CHINA’S economy will likely grow faster than previously thought in 2015, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said yesterday, downplaying the risks of the cooling property market in the world’s second-largest economy.

    Economic growth in China will likely be “well above” 7 percent next year, Changyong Rhee, director of the Asia and Pacific department at the IMF, told a briefing in Manila.

    His remarks suggested the global lender will upgrade its growth forecast for the country due next month from the current 7.1 percent estimate it made in July.

    The IMF has a 7.4 percent growth forecast for China for 2014, slightly below the government’s official target of around 7.5 percent.

    “We expect they have many tools to maintain the growth rate well above 7 percent next year,” Rhee said.

    Many economists see the rapidly slowing property market as the biggest risk facing China’s economy. Home prices, sales and new construction are all falling, and increasingly dragging on related sectors from home appliances to glass, steel and cement.

    Analysts believe the government will roll out further stimulus measures in coming months to avert a deeper economic slowdown, including more help for would-be homebuyers.

    However, Rhee said the IMF does not expect China’s cooling property market to become a serious problem, saying it sees “a gradual adjustment” rather than a hard landing.

    “Evidence shows there will be a gradual adjustment in the real estate market but we have to watch if that baseline scenario will hold,” Rhee said.

    (SD-Agencies)