The share-holding system was such a strong shot in the arm for Chinese companies that those under the system saw August's industrial output increase by 4.4 percent above the national average for the month, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said.

In a monthly report released Monday, the NBS said that China's industrial output grew by 12.8 percent year-on-year in August as markets became more receptive to Chinese-made products. The rise in August was the same as July's 12.8 percent gain, which in turn marked the biggest growth for one-and-a-half years.

Share-holding companies reported a year-on-year rise of 17.2 percent in August -- 0.4 percent higher than July -- reaching 41.9 billion yuan (US$5 billion).

One interpretation by analysts is that China has made progress in its efforts to reform State companies by introducing debt-to-equity and share-holding structures. These now make up the bulk of China's industrial heavyweights, analysts say.

This year is the third of a three-year-period in which China promised to try and pull its sometimes grossly inefficient State companies out of the red.

Government statistics indicate this has been possible not just because of improving trade -- exports rose 36 percent in the first seven months -- but because domestic consumers are spending more.

Retail sales, the main indicator of consumption, rose 9.1 percent in July, compared with just 5.6 percent growth in July 1999.

Data for trade and retail sales in August will be published within the next few days.

Rates of growth for the country's industrial output will continue to expand in double figures for the rest of the year, Hu Shaowei, a think-tank expert with the State Information Centre, said.

Data released Monday showed that industrial business is benefiting from a more vibrant market.

In August, the percentage of finished products sold was up from 97.8 percent in July last year to 98.2 percent in the same month this year.

(China Daily)