Coating firms hit by realty downturn

The coating industry faces overcapacity and excessive inventories as the property market stagnates after years of prosperity.

Coatings include such products as paint, resin and adhesives, all of which are used in the construction sector.

According to figures from the National Bureau of Statistics, real estate investment was up just 6 percent in the first four months of 2015 to 2.37 trillion yuan ($387.8 billion). That was a marked slowdown from the year-earlier period, when investment grew 16.4 percent.