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IFF Newsletter Issue 100
TIME:2023-11-30
From the Editor
China’s manufacturing activity contracted in November. The country’s top government agencies unveiled a slew of measures to step up financial support for the private sector. Profits at China’s industrial firms rose 2.7% in October from the previous year, down from September’s 11.9% increase. The country’s lottery ticket sales rose 59.3% in October from the previous year.
German inflation fell to its lowest level in November since June 2021. US economic growth was revised up to 5.2% in the July-September quarter. And Japan’s factory output rose 1% in October from the previous month. Last but not least, the UN climate conference COP28 is kicking off in Dubai.
China’s factory activity contracts in November
China’s manufacturing activity contracted in November, official data showed on Thursday.
The purchasing managers’ index (PMI) fell to 49.4 in November from 49.5 in October. The 50 mark separates growth from contraction.
Small- and medium-sized manufacturers saw the biggest decline in November as their PMI fell to 47.8%.
Non-manufacturing PMI dipped down to 50.2 in November from October’s 50.6, but still stay above the 50 extension mark.
China bolsters financial support for private companies
Top Chinese government agencies on Monday led by the central bank unveiled a slew of measures to step up financial support for private companies.
Stronger financial support will go to private firms, especially micro, small and medium-sized ones, as well as those in tech-intensive areas like low-carbon industries, according to a joint statement by eight government agencies including the People’s Bank of China and the National Financial Regulatory Administration.
Authorities will facilitate private companies’ access to diverse financing including loans, bonds, and shares. They also urged efforts to ramp up credit support for first-time loan applicants.
China’s industrial profits rise 2.7% in October
Profits at China’s industrial firms rose 2.7% in October from the previous year, down from September’s 11.9% increase, official data showed on Monday.
Profits dropped 7.8% for the first ten months of the year, according to data from the National Bureau of Statistics.
China's lottery ticket sales rose 59.3% year on year to 47.34 billion yuan in October, data from the Ministry of Finance showed.
Lottery ticket sales to support the sports industry surged 70.1% from the previous year.
Sales of lottery tickets to support the country's welfare system reached 15.49 billion yuan last month, an increase of 40.9%.
Sales of lottery tickets rose 53% in the first ten months of the year.
China’s tax refunds, tax and fee cuts and deferrals in the first 10 months of the year reached 1.66 trillion yuan, official data showed on Monday.
Taxpayers in the private sector were primary beneficiaries of the country’s tax and fee relief measures, according to the State Taxation Administration.
China will continue to open up the service industry, and push ahead with a national demonstration zone focused on the sector in Beijing, the Ministry of Commerce said on Friday.
Beijing will build a demonstration zone in an effort to further opening up the services sector, according to a work plan published on Thursday.
Newsletter
International News
German inflation fell to its lowest level in November since June 2021, official data showed on Wednesday.
The harmonized index of consumer prices rose 2.3% in November compared to a year ago, the federal statistics office showed on Wednesday.
A 4.5% year-on-year drop in energy prices had a particularly dampening effect on inflation in November, according to the statistics office.
US economic growth was revised up to 5.2% in the July-September quarter, the Commerce Department reported on Wednesday.
The department had previously estimated that the economy expanded 4.9% in the last quarter.
The data showed that the US gross domestic product - the total output of goods and services - grew at its fastest quarterly rate in nearly two years, according to the Associated Press.
Japan’s factory output rose 1% in October from the previous month, data by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry showed on Thursday.
Electronic parts and devices production increased 6.5% in October from the previous month.
Retail sales fell 1.6% month on month in October, the data showed.
Global growth will slow slightly next year as the impact of monetary tightening, weak trade and lower business and consumer confidence continues to bite, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) said on Wednesday.
Global growth is to slow to 2.7% in 2024 from 2.9% in 2023, according to the organization’s latest economic outlook.
The outlook estimates that consumer price inflation in OECD countries is expected to drop from 7% in 2023 to 5.2% in 2024 and 3.8% in 2025.
The UN climate conference COP28 is to kick off in Dubai of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) on Thursday.
The UN said COP28 is a pivotal opportunity to correct course and accelerate action to tackle the climate crisis.
This year’s conference has embroiled in controversies as the BBC reported that the UAE planned to use its role as the host to promote oil and gas deals.
Sweden entered recession in the third quarter as its gross domestic product decreased for the second consecutive quarter.
Official data showed that Swedish GDP shrank 1.4% in the third quarter compared to the same quarter last year.
The economy fell 1% in the second quarter from the previous year.
The statistics office said household expenditure had been negative for a fifth consecutive quarter.