China's fixed-asset investment up 9% in H1

BEIJING - China's fixed-asset investment grew 9 percent in the first half of 2016, down from 9.6 percent in the first five months and 10.7 percent in the first quarter, official data showed Friday.

Private investment increased 2.8 percent in the first half, down from 3.9 percent in the first five months and 5.7 percent in the first quarter, said the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).

Investment by state-owned enterprises slightly sped up, rising 23.5 percent in the first half, compared with 23.3 percent growth in the first quarter.

In the first half, fixed-asset investment grew 21.1 percent in the agricultural sector, 4.4 percent in the industrial sector and 11.7 percent in the service sector. All of them slowed compared with the first quarter expansions.

Infrastructure investment jumped 20.9 percent in the first half, quickening from 20 percent in the first five months and 19.6 percent in the first quarter.

Fixed-asset investment includes capital spent on infrastructure, property, machinery and other physical assets.

In addition to the investment figures, the NBS released a string of economic data on Friday, with headline GDP growth at 6.7 percent in the second quarter of 2016, flat from the first quarter.