The Q3 China Economic Insight report produced by Cebr for ICAEW, tells us China is on course to meet a 7.5% growth target this year. It is filled with interesting details on mainland China, Hong Kong and Macau, and here are five:

1) China’s high household saving rate is actually going up despite rapidly rising incomes.

Household savings as a percentage of GDP rose from 18% at the start of the century to 25% in the latest data from 2011. This is over half the national savings. In absolute terms, household savings have quadrupled in the past decade. This may be because of a less developed welfare system in China. Households invest in special government bonds, in Wealth Management products, and in banks too.

2) China has become the leading jewellery manufacturer in the world, overtaking India.

Gold is an alternative safe haven for domestic savings both as a store of wealth and a hedge against inflation. It has also had a remarkable price performance over the last decade. Jewellery production has gone up more than 4x from 217 tonnes in 2004 to 872 in 2013. Over 85% is destined for the domestic market.

3) The number of Chinese Students in the UK trebled between 2005 and 2013.

Of 210,000 overseas student visas issued in 2013, 57,336 student visas were Chinese,  three times the next largest nationality, India (17,271). This number is expected to fall as Chinese universities develop – just as Indian student visas have fallen by 34% since 2009. At the same time, foreign students are flocking to China to study Mandarin, and to the 300 + Confucius Institutes around the world (this will increase to 1000 by 2020). There are also masses of Chinese students in UK Independent Schools (37.2% of all foreign students).

4) Chinese citizens are the top buyers of US residential property. 

In 2013, Chinese citizens invested $22bn in US property, compared to less than $15bn invested by Canadians. This wall of investment into foreign property, which extends to other countries including Australia and the UK, is partly due to the appreciation of the Yuan against foreign currencies. In other words, overseas property seems more affordable.

5) There are at least 360 million sq m of unsold residential buildings in China.  

The outstanding stock of unsold residential buildings has been rising since 2011. China’s domestic real estate sector is cooling, with more than 40 cities limiting the number of units each household may own. But many are now reversing those policies for fear of falling local land sales. Hong Kong has also cooled the property market, after prices doubled between 2008 and 2013.

 

Click here to access the report.