China's H1 fixed-asset investment up 11.4%

BEIJING - China's fixed-asset investment grew 11.4 percent year on year to 23.71 trillion yuan ($3.88 trillion) in the first half, official data showed on Wednesday.

The growth pace was flat from the figure for the first five months but was lower than the 13.5-percent growth registered in the first quarter, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said in a statement.

"Investment growth rebounded in both May and June, bringing the pace for the first half to the same level as the January-May period. We can also say that the trend of declining investment has been basically curbed," NBS spokesperson Sheng Laiyun told a press conference.

In the first half, fixed-asset investment in the agricultural sector grew most rapidly, up 27.8 percent year on year, followed by 12.4 percent for the service sector and 9.3 percent for the industrial sector.

The calculation does not include fixed-asset investment by farmers. It includes projects with investment of at least 5 million yuan, as well as all property development projects.

China's GDP expanded by 7 percent in the second quarter, flat from the first quarter and offering another sign of a stabilizing economy, the NBS said.