Survey sees positive growth potential for Chinese economy

A new survey about investor sentiment released by the Cheung Kong Graduate School of Business in Beijing on Wednesday revealed more positive sentiments from institutional and general investors on the A-share market and the Chinese economy growth potential.

The survey, which inquired 13 key cities nationwide and received some 1,500 valid samples, found that in the first quarter, 74.3 percent of the interviewees believed the prices of the A-share market will go up, with the number rising 10.2 percentage points over the last quarter.

Yet, investors remain pessimistic about the real estate sector. Since August 2020, the number of people who are willing to invest in real estate has continued to decline. In the latest survey, 52.7 percent of investors believed real estate prices will increase in the future.

"The Chinese economy is coming out of the shadows of the pandemic and investor sentiment has generally rebounded. But it still requires some time and efforts for the stabilization of the real estate sector," said Liu Jing, professor of accounting and finance at CKGSB.

Meanwhile, 59.4 percent of the respondents considered the future annual GDP growth rate could exceed 5 percent, up 2.5 percentage points compared with the previous quarter.

Liu said investors' expectations for economic growth have been slightly higher than the actual economic growth rate. This year, the demand for consumption and investment has been somehow unleashed from the negative impact of the pandemic, but the growth pace has been relatively slow.

zhuwenqian@chinadaily.com.cn