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G.F. 326
Table 1
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3.
(a) Capital expenditure on plant and
machinery
According to the preliminary estimate of
expenditure on the GDP for 1987, overall expenditure on plant and machinery grew by 27% in real terms over 1986 (Table 1).
There was,
however, a sharp slow-down in the year-on-year growth rate to 11% in the fourth quarter of 1987, from 24% in the first quarter, 28% in the second quarter, and 52% in the third quarter respectively.
4.
.
The private sector has a dominant role in investment in plant and machinery. Its share in
this category of investment amounted to 98% in 1987, the same as in 1986. Expenditure on plant and machinery by the private sector grew by 28% in real terms in 1987, compared with an increase of 11% in 1986. The sharp slow-down in investment by the private sector in the fourth quarter contributed to the overall deceleration in this
category of investment. For the public sector, which accounted for only 2% of the overall expenditure on plant and machinery, the
corresponding growth rate was 17% in 1987, in stark contrast to a decline of 30% recorded in 1986.
5.
(b) Retained imports of capital goods
Subject to certain statistical limitations, retained imports of capital goods provide a useful indicator of the latest trend in investment in plant and machinery. The growth rate of these retained imports slowed down to about 10% in real terms in the fourth quarter, from 18% in the first quarter, 32% in the second quarter, and
CONFIDENTIAL ☀☀