China industrial firms' May profits rise 6% y/y

Profits at China's industrial firms in May rose 6% year-on-year to 582.3 billion yuan ($82.28 billion), the statistics bureau said on Sunday. The rebound followed a 4.3% fall in April. For the first five months of 2020, industrial firms' profits fell 19.3% from the same period last year to 1.84 trillion yuan.

Profits at China's industrial firms in May rose 6% year-on-year to 582.3 billion yuan ($82.28 billion), the statistics bureau said on Sunday. The rebound followed a 4.3% fall in April.

For the first five months of 2020, industrial firms' profits fell 19.3% from the same period last year to 1.84 trillion yuan. Liabilities at industrial firms rose 6.6% on year at end-May, compared with 6.2% growth as of end-April.

Business activity in China is clearly improving after tough coronavirus containment measures that led to weeks of near-paralysis in the world's second-largest economy. But demand at home and abroad remain sluggish amid concerns of a second wave of infections and a global recession.