China Economic Watch: Top 4 Bank Loans Said to Have Shrunk from May; Non-Manufacturing PMI Edges Up

Top 4 Bank Loans Said to Have Shrunk from May
China's four largest state-owned banks extended a combined ¥188 billion in loans in June, significantly down from ¥250 billion during the month before, a person familiar with the matter said. A slump in commercial paper financing was behind the decline, according to the source. The four banks attracted as much as ¥1.8 trillion in deposits last month, the source added.

Non-Manufacturing PMI Edges Up
China's non-manufacturing purchasing managers' index climbed 1.5 points to 56.7 in June, reversing from two consecutive months of decline, according to joint data from the China Federation of Logistics and Purchasing and the National Bureau of Statistics. In comparison, the country's manufacturing purchasing managers' hit a seven-month low at 50.2 in June.

Software Revenue Rises 27.2% Jan-May
Revenue from China's software industry rose 27.2% year on year to ¥860.8 billion in the first five months of 2012, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology said. The growth rate was one percentage point slower than in the same period a year ago and 1.2 percentage points faster than in the first four months of this year. Software exports grew 11.5% year on year to $13.4 billion between January and May; the rate was nine percentage points slower than in the same period a year ago.

Rail Passenger Traffic Up 6.2% in Jun
China's railway passenger traffic grew 6.2% year on year to 155.77 million people in June, the Ministry of Railways said, citing a three-day national holiday for the increase. Railway cargo traffic totaled 313.26 million tons during the same month.

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