Han Ximin

ximhan@126.com

THE city’s GDP fell to 578.56 billion yuan (US$81.69 billion) in the first quarter of this year, down 6.6 percent from the same period last year, according to Guangdong Province’s GDP numbers released Sunday.

Statistics show the added value of the first industry was 521 million yuan, down by 9.8 percent compared to Q1 in 2019, while the added value of the second industry was 192 billion yuan, down by 14.1 percent. The added value of the tertiary industry was 385 billion yuan, down by 1.8 percent.

The data in Q1 shows recovery compared to the data in January and February. The decrease in industrial added value at designated or above level in Q1 had been narrowed by 4.8 percentage points compared to the data in the first two months. The investments on fixed assets increased by 6.8 percentage points compared with those in the first two months. The decrease of trade in the first quarter also narrowed by 5.9 percentage points compared to January and February.

In contrast, the digital economy increased by 4.9 percent in Q1. The service industry at designated scale or above level slightly dropped, but information transmission, software and information technology service businesses increased by 2.4 percent.

By the end of March, the balance of yuan and foreign currencies at the city’s financial institutions was 8.99 trillion yuan, an increase of 17 percent over the same period last year. The loan balance was 6.26 trillion yuan, an increase of 14.2 percent, statistics show.

Experts believe the COVID-19 impact is temporary and will not change the basic economic situation, which is expected to recover in the second quarter.