12.2008

Major Economic Indicators

Notes: ¹ In real terms ² For all state-owned enterprises and other forms with annual sales over RMB 5 million
³ Jan-Aug 2008
Sources: Anhui Statistical Yearbook 2008, China's customs statistics 8.2008

General Background

Anhui has a total area of 139,427 square kilometers. Total population stood at 66.8 million in 2007. It lies in the hinterland of Yangtze River Delta. Among many rivers and lakes in Anhui, Chaohu Lake is one of the five great freshwater lakes in China, with an area of 800 square kilometers.

The land in Anhui Province is very fertile and suitable for various kinds of crops. The province is also rich in mineral resources. There are 138 kinds of minerals which have already been identified. Among them, 38 kinds rank the top 10 in the whole country, and coal, iron, copper, sulphur and alunite are regarded as the five major minerals.

During the 9th five-year programme, Anhui succeed in transforming its economic structure with the share of tertiary in GDP surpassed that of primary. In Anhui's 11th five-year programme, it will continue to push forward economic reform, aiming to achieve an average annual growth rate above 10%.

Industries

In the past ten years, tertiary developed rapidly, replacing the primary to be the 2nd largest industry. In terms of composition of the tertiary industry, education and real estate are the two leading sectors, accounting for 10.3% and 10.3% respectively of the tertiary output.

Composition of GDP (%)

Source: Anhui Statistical Yearbook 2008

Anhui's industry is dominated by heavy industry, which accounted for 70.6% of the total value-added industrial output in 2007.

Value-added Share of Leading Industry Groups (2007)

Source: Anhui Statistical Yearbook 2008

Tourism

Anhui has abundant tourism resources. It has 10 state-level scenic spots, including Yellow Mountain, Jiuhua Mountain, Tianzhu Mountain, Langya Mountain, etc. There are not only beautiful natural sceneries, but also cultural relics relating to Buddhism and Taoism. The local Hui culture are time-honored.

In 2007, Anhui received 78.5 million (+27.4%) domestic tourists with tourism receipts of RMB54.4 billion (+40.2%). It also attracted 1.1 million (+32.4%) overseas tourists with the foreign exchange revenue of US$344.0 million (+51.7%). The total number of tourist from Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan increased by15.5% to 321 thousand.

Foreign Trade

Major exports included mechanical & electrical products, spinning & fabric & related products, land vehicles.

Major imports were metal ore & metal waste material, special industrial machinery, etc. Major import sources were Chile, Australia, Japan and Peru.

Major Export Markets of Anhui (2007)

Source: Anhui Statistical Yearbook, 2008

Foreign Investment

In recent years, Anhui has performed very well in attracting FDI. Both the contracted amount and utilised amount of FDI grew at fast pace. Its utilised FDI grew by 115.2% in 2007.

In 2007, FDI mainly went the manufacturing and real estate sectors, accounting for 61.9% and 15.2% of the total utilised FDI respectively.

Hong Kong is the largest source of foreign direct investment in Anhui. In 2007, Hong Kong investors signed 199 contracts (38.3% of the total) with contracted amount of US$1,568.8 million (43.9% of the total). The utilised investment from Hong Kong amounted to US$1,259million (42% of the total) in 2007. Other major investors came from the US and Singapore.

Consumer Market

In 2007, retail sales of consumer goods rose by 18.4% to RMB240.4 billion. Major consumer markets are located in Hefei, Anqing and Wuhu. In 2007, annual per capita disposal income of urban households reached RMB11,474 (+17.4%).

Composition of Per Capita Expenditure of Urban Household (%)

Source: Anhui Statistical Yearbook 2008

Increasing income transforms the consumer expenditure structure with a smaller share on food but a bigger share on services. The retail landscape is also changing with the uprising of various forms of chain stores, supermarkets, hypermarkets and convenience stores. Major retail operators include Beijing Gome, Wal-mart, Carrefour etc. and Joymart is one of the successful local operators.

Economic Indicators of Major Cities (2007)