The economic growth momentum in Guangzhou remained strong over the past few years despite the GDP growth decelerating to 6~7% per annum during the period 2017 to 1H/2019.

The local economy remained service-oriented, with the output of the tertiary industry increasing 8.6% year-on-year (YoY) to RMB855.6 billion and accounting for 73% of the local GDP as of the end of 1H/2019. The growth in the tertiary sector was primarily driven by the continued expansion of information technology, media entertainment and finance sectors. The trends continued into 1H/2019, with the majority of the economic indicators pointing north. 

For example, from January to June 2019, fixed asset investment increased by 24.8% to RMB303.36 billion, the fastest growth rate since 2013.This growth was fundamentally driven by the sustained increases in investment in the infrastructure and real estate sectors. Meanwhile, the volume of Actual Utilisation of Foreign Capital in Guangzhou increased by 8.2% YoY to USD4.1 billion, 63% of which was sourced from Hong Kong.