A report released Thursday by the Guangdong Provincial Bureau of Statistics indicate that the province is thus far maintaining its fast growth, despite the outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS).

However, Provincial Governor Huang Huahua has warned that additional efforts must be made to maintain growth in the coming months given that the economic impact of SARS persists.

Huang said the epidemic has largely put a halt to industries like tourism, catering, retail sales and hotels, arousing concern about a possible economic slowdown.

The governor said he remains optimistic about reaching the goal of 9 percent GDP growth rate this year as redoubled efforts are taken to minimize the economic impact of SARS.

He urged local governments to support industries unduly influenced by the outbreak of SARS and to encourage them to carry out industrial restructuring to help alleviate the pressure.

The province's industrial added value, a major indicator of the manufacturing industry, was 153.5 billion yuan (US$18.5 billion), a year-on-year increase of 19.2 percent, suggesting that manufacturing industries have not been severely affected by SARS.

In the first four months of the year, the province invested 91 billion yuan (US$11 billion) in fixed assets, up 15.2 percent year-on-year. Growth in April, however, was 5.2 percentage points down from the first quarter.

Trade was a bright spot, as fast growth was recorded in the province's imports and exports in the first four months. Total exports reached US$42.42 billion, while imports reached US%38.68 billion, up 28.7 percent and 32.4 percent, respectively.

Foreign investment actually used in the first four months increased 22.4 percent to US$46.07 billion.

(Xinhua News Agency May 17, 2003)