China growth tops 11%
The Chinese economy continues to grow at a scorching pace with GDP rising by 11% in the first quarter according to the National Bureau of Statistics. This exceeded even the 10.4% rise seen in the last three months of 2006 and has prompted renewed calls for stern measures to check runaway growth that might lead to inflation getting out of control. Prime Minister Wen Jiabao has once again spoken of the need to avoid “overheating” of the economy citing “unreasonable” preferential policies for export industries. China’s trade surplus almost doubled in the first quarter to $46Bn. The cooling talk fuelled speculation of a further hike in interest rates causing panic at bourses though stocks at most of the exchanges in Asia had rallied this morning. Global outsourcing of manufacturing to China has fuelled an export boom that has seen container volumes swell and ports scrambling to expand capacity. Tanker and dry bulk operators are also benefiting from China’s growing demand for crude oil and iron ore.