China’s official purchasing managers’ index (PMI) for March rose to 52.4, up from 49.0 in February. A reading over 50 in the PMI marks an expansion of activity in the manufacturing sector and indicates economic recovery. Output and new orders surged in the manufacturing sector, marking the first improvement since September last year.
Analysts with Nomura Holdings Inc. raised China’s GDP forecast for the fourth quarter of 2009 to as much as 10 percent. An investment boom led by the government’s stimulus package, increased bank lending and a slow growth in the last quarter of 2008 indicate a strong GDP growth at the end of this year, according to Nomura.
China’s Vice Premier Zhang Dejiang again expressed his concern about the dire employment situation for the country’s college graduates. The government urged China’s enterprises and research institutions to employ more graduates.
As a result of the G20 summit in London, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown announced that the world’s 20 biggest economies will inject a total of $750 billion into the IMF. China will contribute $40 billion, or 5.3 percent, of the new funds, a higher proportion of its voting rights of 3.8 percent within the organization. China’s strong contribution might indicate Beijing’s aspirations of a stronger say within the IMF.