-- Despite trade tariffs and rising oil prices, China's large industrial enterprises, especially the tech-oriented sectors, earned strong profits in March, reported the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) on Monday.
In the month of March, industrial profits in China rose 15.8% on year, largely on the back of private-sector enterprises, said the NBS. The agency's survey is limited to outfits with more than $2.9 million a year in revenue.
For the full first quarter, the profits of large-scale industrial enterprises nationwide increased by 15.5% on year.
In the first quarter, profits at state-owned industrial companies rose 10.1% on year, while black ink at private manufacturers rose 25.4% on year.
In another category, the joint-stock, or publicly traded, industrial enterprises, profits rose 20.9% on year in the first quarter.
By industry, the mining sector achieved an on-year profit hike of 16.2% in the first quarter, and the manufacturing industry a gain 19.1%.
From January through March, earnings at computer, communication, and other electronic-equipment manufacturers jumped by 120% on year, reported the NBS.
In the chemical sector, the bottom line swelled by 54.5%, the coal mining and washing industry grew by 6.7%, while the petroleum, coal, and other fuel processing industry "turned from loss to stable", reported Beijing officials.
Despite a strong industrial profit result in the first quarter, the NBS warned that uncertainties in the external environment remain elevated and that imbalances between supply and demand, that is, over-capacity, still need to be addressed, reported the state-run China.org.cn.