China's industrial profits accelerate rebound in first 2 months

Profits of China's major industrial firms saw accelerated growth in the first two months of this year as the economy further firms up from the COVID-19-induced woes, official data showed on Saturday.

Industrial firms with an annual business turnover of at least 20 million yuan (US$3.06 million) saw their combined profits surge 179 percent year on year during the January-February period to 1.11 trillion yuan, data from the National Bureau of Statistics showed.

When compared with the first two months of 2019, the figure represented a rise of 72.1 percent. The average growth rate in the past two years stood at 31.2 percent, NBS data showed.

The notable rebound was a combined result of recovery in both domestic and external demand, a low comparison base and longer production hours by firms as workers "stayed put" for the Chinese Lunar New Year holiday this year, NBS senior statistician Zhu Hong said.