China's industrial profits down 2.1% in first 8 months

Profits of China's major industrial firms fell 2.1 percent year on year in the first eight months of 2022, official data showed on Tuesday.

Industrial firms each with annual main business revenue of at least 20 million yuan (US$2.83 million) saw their combined profits reach 5.53 trillion yuan in the period, the National Bureau of Statistics said.

The combined revenues of these firms sustained a quicker growth pace during the period, rising 8.4 percent year on year to 87.89 trillion yuan, NBS data showed.

Senior NBS statistician Zhu Hong pointed out the improvement in business profit structure, noting that curbed rising momentum in the prices of some commodities eased pressure on downstream producers.

A total of 16 out of 41 major industries saw growth in profits in the January-August period. The electrical machinery and equipment manufacturing sector saw profits jump 20.9 percent year on year and the profits of the manufacturing of chemical raw materials and chemical products rose 5 percent.

The profits of consumer goods manufacturing have continued to improve thanks to an array of pro-consumption measures by the government to boost market demand, Zhu noted.