China Jan-Aug industrial profits up 28.2pc

BEIJING: Combined profits of industrial enterprises across the country rose 28.2 percent yearly in the first eight months of this year to 3.2281 trillion yuan ($504 billion), the National Bureau of Statistics said on Tuesday.

The growth marked a slight slowdown from the 28.3 percent in the first seven months and 28.7 percent in the first half.

The statistics agency said profitability in oil exploration, ferrous metal mining, non-ferrous metal processing were particularly strong.

But the petrochemical and coking sector reported a fall of 85.3 percent in profits in the first eight months. The figures cover industrial firms with annual sales above 20 million yuan.