The province of Guangdong in China has gained impressive amounts of growth over the first quarter of the year, indicating a steadily recovering economy. The Bureau of Statistics of Guangdong province announced earlier in the week that it has managed to generate a GDP of around US$356.2 billion for the first quarter of the year. The figure translates to year-on-year growth of around 6.6 percent.
The rate of growth in the province has exceeded expectations as the province continues to become China's economic powerhouse. The increased growth rate is expected to play a significant role in further stabilizing China's economy, following its recent slowdown.
Guangdong's sales of consumer goods within the first three months of this year had reached around US$150 billion, a year-on-year increase of about 6.9 percent. Fixed asset investments in the province also jumped up by 11.2 percent year-on-year. Meanwhile, infrastructure investments within the region grew by a staggering 28.3 percent for the first quarter.
The added investments for new infrastructure have contributed a lot in the province's sustainable growth over the past few months. The province's tertiary or service sector also grew at an impressive rate of 7.2 percent when compared to last year, reaching over US$200 billion.
While the report has shown most of the figures in the green, Guangdong's foreign trade has somewhat slipped. According to the statistics agency's report, import and export volumes within the first three months of the year have fallen by about 1 percent to around US$230 billion. The province exported around US$137 billion worth of products to other countries in the first quarter, a 1.8 percent increase from last year. However, its import volume had reduced by 4.8 percent year-on-year to about US$98.6 billion.
The province's per-capita average income also saw impressive gains in the first quarter, further indicating a rapidly recovering economy. The average income for local residents increases by around 8.5 percent, while the average income for urban residents increased by 8.2 percent. The average income for rural farmers also jumped up by 8.7 percent in the first quarter.
The total industrial output in Guangdong had increased by 6.5 percent year-on-year for the first quarter. The province's high-tech manufacturing industry gained the highest amount of growth, at a rate of 9.6 percent. The sector accounts for about a third of the province's industrial value.
The recent tax and fee reduction measures enacted by China's government have had a positive effect in the province. According to analysts, the recent measures have boosted market confidence within the province as well as in other parts of China. Investments have continued to see double-digit growths, particularly during the first quarter.
