China fixed asset spending up 25.7 percent

The bureau said investment in construction, factory equipment and other such assets totaled 2.84 trillion yuan ($406 billion; euro263 billion).

The growth rate was slightly above the 25.5 percent increase in such investments in January-April 2007 and compared with a 24.6 percent increase in the first three months of this year, the statistics bureau said.

Regulators have repeatedly raised interest rates and tightened lending policies, seeking to curb a boom in such investments, which they fear could precipitate a financial crisis and hamper efforts to cool inflation.