China's moderately well-off families are optimistic about the Chinese economy in the future as the Climate Index of China's Wealth rose in January amid steady economic growth, a Bank of Communications report said yesterday.
The bimonthly index hit 140 points in January, up 3 percentage points from two months before and was 6 percentage points higher than that in January 2017, said the report released by BoCom.
A reading above 100 means growth in wealth, while that below 100 signals retreat.
All three main sub-indices rose, with that for income growth up markedly by 5 percentage points to 155. The economy climate index added 1 percentage point to 137, and the investment intention index gained 2 percentage points.
"The growth of these indices showed that well-off families are optimistic about the Chinese economy in the future," said Zhou Kunping, deputy general manager of the research and development department at BoCom.
China is working hard to drive its economy into one of high quality development, with the gross domestic product exceeding 80 trillion yuan (US$12.8 trillion) for the first time in 2017. This boosted people's confidence in the economy, and helped lift the overall climate index of China's wealth, the report said.
"The 5-percentage-point rise of the sub-index for income growth was to some extent due to the improved household finances," Zhou said. "Also, the strong performance of stocks in the beginning of the year buoyed returns on investment."
The investment willingness index rose amid people's intention to invest in current assets, confident their investment would be protected by stricter rules, the report said.
BoCom surveyed 1,800 well-off families with annual after-tax incomes above 120,000 yuan in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Shenzhen, those with incomes over 100,000 yuan in Chengdu and over 80,000 yuan in 21 other cities.
