China’s National Bureau of Statistics said on 29 September that total profits at industrial enterprises above the designated size reached 5.27198 trillion yuan in January–August, up 15.7% from a year earlier. Profit in August alone increased 4.2% year on year. Over the same eight-month period, business revenue rose 6.6% and operating costs increased 6.1%; the profit margin on revenue gained 0.44 percentage points to 5.66%. The bureau said annual comparisons are calculated on a comparable basis, accounting for changes in the reporting scope and statistical treatment.

Results varied by sector: mining profits rose 35.1% and manufacturing profits increased 17.4%, while profits in electricity, heat, gas and water production and supply fell 12%. By ownership category, private-enterprise profits rose 10.4%, state-holding enterprises 10.3%, and foreign-invested enterprises plus firms from Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan 2.3%. Some ownership classifications overlap, so their subtotals should not be added to recreate the overall figure. The series covers industrial legal entities with annual main-business revenue of at least 20 million yuan. It therefore does not represent all firms or smaller businesses.