China Economic Watch: Manufacturing Continues to Pick Up; Shanghai Tops Openness List

Manufacturing Continues to Pick Up
China's manufacturing improved for a fourth consecutive month as the official purchasing managers index gained 2.1 points from February to 53.1 in March, the China Federation of Logistics and Purchasing said. The better performance was fueled by the tobacco, automotive, electrical appliances and machinery sectors. Separately, HSBC's final reading for the nation's PMI was 48.3, slightly higher than the previously estimated 48.1.

Petrochemical Output Exceeds ¥1.7t Through Feb
China's 26,647 petrochemical companies (each posting at least ¥20 million in annual revenues) produced ¥1.73 trillion worth of goods in the first two months of 2012, up 16.3% year on year and accounting for 13.9% of the nation's total industrial output over the period, figures from the China Petroleum & Chemical Industry Association have shown. The petrochemical industry's bilateral trade grew 20.4% to $101.33 billion between January and February, where imports were up 22.6% to $76.09 billion and exports were up 14% to $25.24 billion.

156m Broadband Users in China
China had 156 million netizens with access to broadband services, 80% of whom had 2M connectivity or faster, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology said, adding that it will try to provide half of broadband users access to at least 4M connectivity by the end of this year.

Shanghai Tops Openness List
Shanghai, Beijing and Guangdong are the top three provincial-level regions in terms of economic, technological and social openness compared to the rest of China, according to a report released by the National Development and Reform Commission. Ranking fourth to tenth are Tianjin, Fujian, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Liaoning, Hainan and Shandong.

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