Growth of China’s hi-tech industries slump to record low
- Analysts see the slower-than-expected resumption of business in China to slow growth this first quarter
A gauge of growth momentum in China’s hi-tech industries slumped to a record low in February, as the impact of the coronavirus bit, prompting Nomura Holdings to cut its estimate for the official manufacturing gauge.
The Emerging Industries Purchasing Managers’ index plunged 20.2 percentage points to 29.9 this month, according to a research firm connected to the Federation of Logistics & Purchasing.
That is the lowest since the introduction of the series in January 2014, according to a research note by Nomura.
The close correlation of that index with the official manufacturing purchasing managers’ index prompted Nomura to cut its February forecast for that gauge from close to 40 to as low as 30, said Lu Ting, Nomura’s chief China economist in Hong Kong.
The slump in the hi-tech industries gauge reflected the “devastating impact” of the Covid-19 epidemic after cities were locked down to prevent the virus spreading and because of a very slow return to work for the nation after the Lunar New Year holiday, Nomura said.
