China's fixed asset investment to grow 22%

BEIJING -- China's annual fixed asset investment is predicted to grow about 22 percent next year, according to a report by the State Information Center on Monday.

Investment growth in the property sector will be about 15 percent next year, the report said.

The environment for investment growth next year may benefit from governmental change, favorable policies for private investors and strategies to bridge regional development gaps, the report said.

However, there are challenges due to the economic slowdown, policies targeted to cool the property sector and investors' weak confidence in the market, the report said.

It suggested for more efforts to maximize investment structure and efficiency, and to boost private investment so as to achieve stable growth.

China's fixed asset investment rose 20.7 percent year-on-year to 32.62 trillion yuan ($5.18 trillion) in the first 11 months of 2012, the National Bureau of Statistics said on Sunday.

The State Information Center, set up in 1987, deals with economic information and is under the administration of the country's economic planner, the National Development and Reform Commission.