A spokesman for China's National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said in Beijing Friday that the growth rate of investment in fixed assets in the first three quarters this year slowed down.

The total investment in the fixed assets from January to September this year was valued at 4.5102 trillion yuan (US$543.4 billion), an increase of 27.7 percent compared with the same period of last year, Zheng Jingping told a press conference held in Beijing by the Information Office of the State Council.

The growth rate reduced by 15.3 percentage points and 0.9 percentage point respectively compared with the first quarter and the first half this year, Zheng said.

Growth rate of investment in some over-heated industries obviously reduced. The total investment in the first three quarters this year in steel and cement manufacturing went down by 65.5 and 43.4 percentage points respectively, compared with the first quarter this year, Zheng said.

The investment in aluminum processing and manufacturing decreased by 6.5 percent, a sharp slowdown from the increase of 39. 3 percent in the first quarter this year, Zheng said.

The investment in real estate increased by 28.3 percent, a slowdown of 12.8 percentage points, compared with the first quarter this year, Zheng said.

Meanwhile, Zheng said, the investment in agriculture, forestation, fishery and stockbreeding greatly increased by 21.4 percent, 21 percentage points up compared with the first quarter this year.

(Xinhua News Agency October 23, 2004)