In this Sunday, July 8, 2012 photo, a family chat outside their souvenir shop in a hutong, an old alleyway, near the Houhai lake in Beijing, China. THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP, Alexander F. Yuan
July 20, 2012 - 7:34 AM
BEIJING, China - China's government says total profit for its biggest state-owned companies is down sharply in the latest example of the impact of the country's deepest slump since the 2008 global crisis.
The state Xinhua News Agency said Friday the agency that oversees the top 117 state companies reported first-half profit was down 16.4 per cent from a year earlier. It gave no details of individual companies.
China's economic growth slowed to a three-year low of 7.6 per cent in the second quarter. Analysts say the decline probably has bottomed out but they say the strength of a recovery is uncertain.
Some of China's biggest companies including airlines, manufacturers and retailers have warned profits due to be reported in coming weeks will be down by up to 80 per cent from a year earlier.
News from © The Associated Press, 2012