China's industrial companies made profits of 572.8 billion yuan (US$69 billion) during the first nine months of this year, an increase of 49 per cent over those for the same period a year ago, the National Bureau of Statistics said Friday.

The profit growth, which was slower than the 56.7 per cent rise for the first half of this year, is still much faster than the 20.6 per cent rise for the whole of 2002.

Profits made by State-owned industrial firms and firms in which the State holds a majority of the stake were 286.2 billion yuan (US$34.5 billion) for the period, a year-on-year increase of 60.8 per cent, the bureau said in a statement.

Industrial enterprises handed in 518 billion yuan (US$62.4 billion) in taxes to the State, a year-on-year increase of 18.7 per cent for the period.

During the first nine months, sales income earned by industrial firms reached 9.83 trillion yuan (US$1.18 trillion), a year-on-year increase of 27.5 per cent for the period.

The net loss suffered by money-losing companies was 86.4 billion yuan (US$10.4 billion) for the period, a drop of 3.7 per cent from figures for the same period a year ago.

Chief economist Yao Jingyuan of the bureau said the good performance of the industrial sector was partly due to the country's rapid increase in fixed asset investments.

China's fixed asset investments rose a year-on-year 30.5 per cent to 3.44 trillion yuan (US$413.9 billion) for the January-September period.

The performance can also be attributed to the upgrading of the domestic consumption structure, the adjustment of the industrial structure and price changes on the international market, said Yao, also a spokesman for the bureau.

He said a majority of the industrial sector made clear increases in profits during the January-September period.

Earnings of crude oil and natural gas producers rose 36.8 billion yuan (US$4.4 billion) during the nine months compared with figures for the same period a year ago.

Profits of the transport sector, including cars, rose 25.8 billion yuan (US$3.1 billion), while earnings of ferrous metal smelters increased 23.8 billion yuan (US$2.9 billion), he said.

Profits of chemical raw material companies rose 13.3 billion yuan (US$1.6 billion), while earnings from electricity producers increased 10.8 billion yuan (US$1.3 billion).

The five sectors accounted for 58.7 per cent of the increased profits of the entire industrial sector, Yao said.

Wang Zhao, a researcher with the State Council's Development Research Centre, said the fast profit growth suggests the Chinese economy is on a healthy development track.

This is a result of the country's implementation of a pro-active fiscal policy and a sound monetary policy, he said.

During the first nine months, the country's gross domestic product grew 8.3 per cent compared with figures for the same period a year ago, the statistics bureau said earlier.

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