Q: What are the prospects for growth in the Chinese economy, and what will the impact be on the country's banking sector and Agricultural Bank of China [ABC] in particular?
A: First, the Chinese economy has stabilised and is starting to pick up. Economic indicators such as gross domestic product [GDP], the purchasing managers' index [PMI] and total social financing show that China's economy is warming up. In March, the PMI bounced back to 50.9%, 0.8 percentage points higher than in February, and the highest for the past 11 months. In 2012, consumption made up 51.8% of China's GDP growth, but this climbed to 55.5% for the first quarter of 2013. Consumption is playing an increasingly important role in driving economic growth.
