China's fixed-asset investment dropped by 24.5 percent year-on-year to 3.3 trillion yuan in the first two months of 2020 as the novel coronavirus outbreak that emerged in Wuhan in Hubei, depressed the economy. The National Bureau of Statistics data show that FAI in the primary industry dropped by 25.6 percent year on year, while that in the secondary and tertiary industries went down by 28.2 percent and 23 percent, respectively, according to the NBS. Private investment slumped by 26.4 percent to 1.89 trillion yuan during the period, and investment in high-tech industries dropped by 17.9 percent in the first two months, NBS data showed. The FAI includes capital spent on infrastructure, property, machinery and other physical assets. While the virus epidemic has dealt relatively big shocks to economic activities in the first two months, the impacts are largely "short-term, external and controllable," the NBS said in a statement.

Source: The Standard March 16, 2020 03:56 UTC