The purchasing power of Beijing residents has reached 380.1 billion yuan, or averaged at 128,100 yuan for every family, according to latest statistics from the Beijing Municipal Statistic Bureau.

The bureau noted that the gap between the rich and the poor in respect of purchasing power is as high as ten times in between. The purchasing power of families with members working as blue-collar workers in the commercial sector is only 5.3 percent of that of families with members working as owners of private businesses.

According to the bureau, in the past 20 years, the deposit of Beijing residents increased by 19.92 percent yearly, higher than the economic growth in the same period. Experts attributed the rapid growth of deposit to the narrow investment channels, reformswhich changed resident's consumption expectation and low level of credit consumption.

The bureau noted that the purchasing power of Beijing residentsis far from being released. It suggested the government take measures to expand consumption demands for residents and diversifythe flow of deposit.
 
(Xinhua News Agency August 8, 2003)