Chinese economy pivots from empty apartments to bridges to nowhere

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The greatest capital misallocation in the history of human civilisation continues today with China’s November data dump.

On the surface, all appears well as data beat expectations comfortably. Industrial production was in at 6.2%. Retail sales at 8% and fixed asset investment at 5.2%:

However, I am neither impressed nor comforted. The story of 2019 has been an industrial slump offset by an empty apartment construction boom. There is little to suggest that any lift in manufacturing is enduring but plenty to suggest that realty is on the slide.

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About the author
David Llewellyn-Smith is Chief Strategist at the MB Fund and MB Super. David is the founding publisher and editor of MacroBusiness and was the founding publisher and global economy editor of The Diplomat, the Asia Pacific’s leading geo-politics and economics portal. He is also a former gold trader and economic commentator at The Sydney Morning Herald, The Age, the ABC and Business Spectator. He is the co-author of The Great Crash of 2008 with Ross Garnaut and was the editor of the second Garnaut Climate Change Review.