Workers assemble vehicles at the SAIC Motor plant in Shanghai on April 23. ZHU XINGXIN CHINA DAILY BEIJING - Profit growth of China's major industrial firms slowed during the first four months of 2022, weighed down by the resurgence of domestic COVID 19 cases, official data showed on Friday.
In the January-April period, China's major industrial firms, each with annual main business revenue of at least 20 million yuan $2.97 million, saw profits grow 3.5 percent year-on-year. Profit growth was 8.5 percent in the first three months, according to the National Bureau of Statistics.
The data shows that the firms' profits hit nearly 2.66 trillion yuan in the first four months.
During the period, 19 out of 41 industries saw a year-on-year expansion of their profits, but 20 industries registered declines.
In January-April, the mining industry's profits rose 146 percent year-on-year, while the manufacturing sector saw profits down 8.3 percent, compared to a 2.1 percent decline in the first quarter.
The profits of industrial enterprises fell 16.7 percent year-on-year from January to April. Industrial companies saw their profits grow rapidly during the period, averaging 18.2 percent and 47.5 percent year-on-year, in the central and western regions less affected by the epidemic.
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In April, the resurgence of COVID 19 cases and global uncertainties dragged down profits of industrial companies, said Zhu Hong, senior statistician with the NBS.
On November 8, automated logistics equipment in blue help workers dispatched courier delivery parcels at a warehouse in Guanghan, Sichuan province. The performance of HE HAIYANG will recover slowly as the Omicron outbreak stabilizes, factories and companies are restarting production in an orderly manner, and measures to relieve enterprises' burdens are showing effect, according to Zhu.
China has taken a lot of measures to stabilize the economy and help market entities, including more tax refunds and fee cuts, more financing support and the elimination of logistics obstacles.
Premier Li Keqiang asked government departments to introduce practical implementation measures by the end of May after a State Council executive meeting proposed 33 pro-growth measures in six areas.
Li also urged local authorities to introduce policies in light of local conditions to help market entities tide over difficulties and create jobs.
Zhu said that we will work hard to break up bottlenecks in industrial and supply chains, help enterprises overcome difficulties, and create more favorable conditions for the continued recovery of industrial enterprises' business performance.