China's growth slowed to 7.4 per cent in the third quarter from a year earlier, a better than expected result that helped to ease fears about the world's second largest economy.
Nonetheless, it was the seventh consecutive quarter of slowing annual expansion.
In a boost for the economy, investment, retail sales and industrial output picked up at the end of the quarter.
The data, released yesterday by the National Bureau of Statistics, will be greeted with cautious relief by the GCC, a big supplier of oil and other goods to the Asian tiger.
"Those fearing a hard landing will be able to sleep a little better tonight, but those positioned for a clear recovery might be disappointed," Alistair Thornton, the senior China economist at IHS Global Insight, wrote in a client note. "The picture is one of emerging stabilisation, not the return of unbridled optimism."
Even if China's economy does manage to gain momentum, any increase is unlikely to be robust enough to avoid the country recording the lowest annual growth since 1999.
Slowing investment and household spending in China and the collapse of demand in the euro zone, a major market for its goods, has undermined the economy's engine this year.
Annual GDP growth in the first nine months of the year reached 7.7 per cent, marginally lower than 7.8 per cent in the first half of the year. But the statistics bureau maintained yesterday China would either meet or beat the government's target of 7.5 per cent growth for the year.
Many businesses in the GCC have been closely monitoring China's slowdown this year. About half of the GCC's trade is with Asia, with China now Dubai's second biggest trading partner for non-oil goods. But as China's commodity-guzzling engine has started to splutter, the threat of softening demand for oil and other GCC goods has risen.
Prices of Brent crude held steady above US$113 per barrel in the wake of China's latest data. The S&P GSCI Index of 24 raw materials rose 0.1 per cent.
Uncertainties, however, remain for businesses with links to China.
"I don't have confidence (in the outlook)," said Eric Fu, the general manager of China National Building Materials Group in the UAE. "It is still not clear what will happen with the most important event this year - the Communist Party Congress at the end of the year."
The congress starting on November 8 is slated to bring in a once-in-a-decade change in leadership in China and raises the possibility of changes to economic policies.
Attention will also turn to whether the extent of China's slowdown is serious enough to warrant a fresh stimulus to bolster the economy.
The government has already approved $157 billion (Dh576.66bn) of spending on infrastructure projects and cut interest rates twice this year in an effort to revive the economy.
"The data was broadly in line with expectations but if we are seeing signs of stabilisation, some people might be concerned it might remove the need for stimulus," said Tim Fox, the chief economist of Emirates NBD.
tarnold@thenational.ae
The Penguin
Starring: Colin Farrell, Cristin Milioti, Rhenzy Feliz
Creator: Lauren LeFranc
Rating: 4/5
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Best Academy: Ajax and Benfica
Best Agent: Jorge Mendes
Best Club : Liverpool
Best Coach: Jurgen Klopp (Liverpool)
Best Goalkeeper: Alisson Becker
Best Men’s Player: Cristiano Ronaldo
Best Partnership of the Year Award by SportBusiness: Manchester City and SAP
Best Referee: Stephanie Frappart
Best Revelation Player: Joao Felix (Atletico Madrid and Portugal)
Best Sporting Director: Andrea Berta (Atletico Madrid)
Best Women's Player: Lucy Bronze
Best Young Arab Player: Achraf Hakimi
Kooora – Best Arab Club: Al Hilal (Saudi Arabia)
Kooora – Best Arab Player: Abderrazak Hamdallah (Al-Nassr FC, Saudi Arabia)
Player Career Award: Miralem Pjanic and Ryan Giggs
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Visa changes give families fresh hope
Foreign workers can sponsor family members based solely on their income
Male residents employed in the UAE can sponsor immediate family members, such as wife and children, subject to conditions that include a minimum salary of Dh 4,000 or Dh 3,000 plus accommodation.
Attested original marriage certificate, birth certificate of the child, ejari or rental contract, labour contract, salary certificate must be submitted to the government authorised typing centre to complete the sponsorship process
In Abu Dhabi, a woman can sponsor her husband and children if she holds a residence permit stating she is an engineer, teacher, doctor, nurse or any profession related to the medical sector and her monthly salary is at least Dh 10,000 or Dh 8,000 plus accommodation.
In Dubai, if a woman is not employed in the above categories she can get approval to sponsor her family if her monthly salary is more than Dh 10,000 and with a special permission from the Department of Naturalization and Residency Dubai.
To sponsor parents, a worker should earn Dh20,000 or Dh19,000 a month, plus a two-bedroom accommodation
Quick facts on cancer
- Cancer is the second-leading cause of death worldwide, after cardiovascular diseases
- About one in five men and one in six women will develop cancer in their lifetime
- By 2040, global cancer cases are on track to reach 30 million
- 70 per cent of cancer deaths occur in low and middle-income countries
- This rate is expected to increase to 75 per cent by 2030
- At least one third of common cancers are preventable
- Genetic mutations play a role in 5 per cent to 10 per cent of cancers
- Up to 3.7 million lives could be saved annually by implementing the right health
strategies
- The total annual economic cost of cancer is $1.16 trillion
The specs: 2017 Maserati Quattroporte
Price, base / as tested Dh389,000 / Dh559,000
Engine 3.0L twin-turbo V8
Transmission Eight-speed automatic
Power 530hp @ 6,800rpm
Torque 650Nm @ 2,000 rpm
Fuel economy, combined 10.7L / 100km
Awar Qalb
Director: Jamal Salem
Starring: Abdulla Zaid, Joma Ali, Neven Madi and Khadija Sleiman
Two stars
RESULT
Manchester United 2 Tottenham Hotspur 1
Man United: Sanchez (24' ), Herrera (62')
Spurs: Alli (11')
The Perfect Couple
Starring: Nicole Kidman, Liev Schreiber, Jack Reynor
Creator: Jenna Lamia
Rating: 3/5
Globalization and its Discontents Revisited
Joseph E. Stiglitz
W. W. Norton & Company
US Industrial Market figures, Q1 2017
Vacancy Rate 5.4%
Markets With Positive Absorption 85.7 per cent
New Supply 55 million sq ft
New Supply to Inventory 0.4 per cent
Under Construction 198.2 million sq ft
(Source: Colliers)
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The specs
Engine: 1.5-litre turbo
Power: 181hp
Torque: 230Nm
Transmission: 6-speed automatic
Starting price: Dh79,000
On sale: Now
WTL%20SCHEDULE
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MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League semi-final, first leg
Barcelona v Liverpool, Wednesday, 11pm (UAE).
Second leg
Liverpool v Barcelona, Tuesday, May 7, 11pm
Games on BeIN Sports
The biog
Name: Salvador Toriano Jr
Age: 59
From: Laguna, The Philippines
Favourite dish: Seabass or Fish and Chips
Hobbies: When he’s not in the restaurant, he still likes to cook, along with walking and meeting up with friends.
Greatest of All Time
Starring: Vijay, Sneha, Prashanth, Prabhu Deva, Mohan
