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A Chinese man behind sticks of ``tanghulu,'' a traditional Chinese snack, waits for customers in Beijing's business area yesterday. China will enjoy another year of strong growth and contained inflation next year, with the yuan gradually continuing to appreciate, a government think-tank said in a report published yesterday. PHOTO: REUTERS

■ CHINESE ECONOMY
Investment set to rise
China's overall fixed-asset investment, a key driver of economic growth, is expected to grow 25.3 percent this year, state press said yesterday, citing government projections. Urban fixed-asset investment is predicted to rise 27 percent for this year, the State Information Center said in a report published in the China Securities Journal. Fixed-asset investment in the first nine months of the year increased by 26.1 percent over the same period last year, with such spending, mainly by the government on infrastructure and other projects, accounting for just under half of China's total economic output. The government think-tank expects overall fixed-asset investment to total 8.78 trillion yuan (US$1.08 trillion) this year, with urban fixed-asset investment to reach 7.45 trillion yuan, the newspaper said.

■ LABORabor
France mulls reforms
France could lift restrictions on service industries and business start-ups to create jobs in the riot-hit suburbs, Finance Minister Thierry Breton said in a newspaper interview published yesterday. He told Britain's Financial Times business daily that although the package of measures would be limited to "zone franche" special areas, the plans could be a proving ground for wider reform of the rigid French labor market. He also admitted that France had not done enough for its immigrants. Violence was continuing in French suburbs early yesterday with more cars ablaze in the troubled Paris suburbs. Breton said he would present Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin with a batch of fresh ideas once the violence ebbs.

■ JAPAN
Growth outpaces forecasts
The Japanese economy grew more than expected in the third quarter, expanding at an annualized pace of 1.7 percent, the government said yesterday. The rate of growth in the GDP from July to September was higher than the average forecast of 1.1 percent, prompting stocks and the yen to rise. However, it was substantially slower than the previous two quarters: a 3.3-percent annualized rate in the second quarter and 6.3 percent in the first. Domestic demand was the driving force behind the reading for the latest quarter. Personal spending, which makes up about 55 percent of Japan's GDP, climbed a real 0.3 percent, encouraged by increased buying of flat-display televisions, commissions on financial services and visits to the World Exposition in Aichi Prefecture, which closed at the end of September.

■ AUTOMOBILES
US giant finishes MMC sale
German-US auto giant DaimlerChrysler said yesterday it had agreed to sell its remaining 12.4-percent stake in Mitsubishi Motors Corp (MMC), effectively completing its gradual withdrawal from the Japanese firm's share capital, according to a company statement. The exact price and the impact on earnings "will be published after closing, which will take place by the end of November the latest," the statement said. But the deal was expected to boost DaimlerChrysler's financial income this year by around 500 million euros (US$585 million). Current cooperation between the two groups "will not be affected by the disposal, and will continue as previously agreed. In addition, DaimlerChrysler and MMC plan to renew and extend current projects which are mutually beneficial," DaimlerChrysler insisted.

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