China's industrial production rose at the slowest pace in 17 months as a result of government curbs on investment began to cool the world's fastest-growing major economy, Bloomberg reported. Te Bureau of Statistics announced that output at manufacturers, mines and power plants climbed 15.7 percent in August from a year earlier. The report adds to evidence that tighter rules on lending and land use, along with higher interest rates, are helping to gradually slow an economy that expanded at the fastest pace in a decade last year. Production growth may continue to top that of nations such as India and South Korea as exports soar and overseas companies such as Sony Corp. expand factories in China, said Bloomberg. ``The government's curbs are clearly starting to have an effect on output,'' said Ben Simpfendorfer, China strategist at Royal Bank of Scotland in Hong Kong. ``But growth will stabilize at above 15 percent as exports are still growing strongly and there's still a lot of investment demand in China that isn't affected by policy tightening.'' The International Monetary Fund this week said surging spending on factories could saddle the nation with overcapacity and rising bad loans. It urged the government to allow the yuan to trade more freely, a step it said would make it easier for the central bank to steer the world's fourth-largest economy.