China's fixed-asset investment up 20.6% in Jan-April

BEIJING - China's urban fixed asset investment grew 20.6 percent year on year to 9.13 trillion yuan (147.29 billion U.S. dollars) in the first four months of 2013, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) revealed on Monday.

The growth was 0.3 percentage point lower than the pace recorded in the first quarter, the NBS said in a statement.

Sun Wencun, a macroeconomic analyst with CITIC Securities, said the growth was mainly driven by infrastructure and property investment, while investment in the manufacturing sector remained weak in the first four months.

During this period, the real estate sector saw investment climb 21.1 percent year on year. The rise was 0.9 percentage point higher than the rate logged in the first three months of 2013.

Investment in the manufacturing sector rose 18.4 percent to 3.23 trillion yuan, 0.3 percentage point lower than the reading in the first three months.