(FT) -- China's manufacturers sharply increased output in October, powered largely by rising domestic demand and defying a widespread slowdown in the rest of Asia.
The official purchasing managers' index released by the China Federation of Logistics and Purchasing rose to 54.7 from 53.8 in September, indicating strong growth in spite of Beijing's efforts to slow the economy to avoid asset bubbles.
The widely watched HSBC China manufacturing PMI, also released on Monday, moved up to 54.8 from 52.9 in one of the biggest month-on-month rises since the series began in April 2004.
The PMI indices, in which a figure above 50 indicates expansion and a lower figure indicates contraction, showed that Chinese manufacturing surged in October for the third successive month.
HSBC said the rate of expansion in new business for Chinese manufacturing companies was at a six-month high, in spite of a relatively small increase in export orders, suggesting that growth was firmly centred on the domestic market.
Hongbin Qu, HSBC's chief China economist, said the upbeat numbers suggested the economy would grow at an annualised rate of around 9 per cent in the fourth quarter of the year.
The Chinese numbers contrasted sharply with PMI reports for South Korea, Taiwan and Japan, all of which showed a continuing slowdown in the wake of very rapid growth after the sharp contraction caused by the global financial crisis.
The HSBC Taiwan index fell to 48.6 from 49 in September, the third successive monthly number suggesting a contraction. The bank's index for South Korea fell to 46.7 from 48.8, the second successive monthly number below 50.
The Nomura Japan manufacturing purchasing managers' index, which was released on Friday, fell to 47.2 from 49.5, the second monthly contraction in a row, indicating that slowing economic conditions and the strong yen are hurting most Japanese manufacturers.
The industrial slowdown in Asia outside China suggests that economic growth is decelerating from the very high rates of expansion achieved after the global crisis.
CNN
