China industrial profits up 14.4% in September, fastest in three months on AI demand

China's industrial profits rose 14.4% in September from a year earlier, the fastest growth since June, official figures released on Tuesday showed, CNBC reported. For January to September, profits at large industrial firms are up 15.5%, a shade below the 15.7% for January to August.

The numbers

Who is making the money

The gains are concentrated. The global boom in artificial intelligence equipment, and higher commodity prices since the war involving Iran began, have lifted chipmakers, miners and raw-material suppliers. Makers of consumer goods (clothing, cars and furniture) are doing much worse, squeezed by higher input costs and weak demand at home. Beijing's campaign to stop price wars between rival manufacturers has also helped margins.

Shena Yue, senior economist at Oxford Economics, told CNBC that high-tech investment remains resilient while household demand is the weak link, held back by the long property slump. Beijing has so far not launched a big new stimulus for consumers.

Why it matters in Pakistan

China is Pakistan's largest source of imports, from machinery and solar panels to mobile phones, chemicals and fabrics. Two things follow from this data:

• Prices of Chinese electronics may stay firm. Strong AI demand for chips and components keeps the cost of memory and processors up, one reason phone prices in Pakistan have climbed (our story).
• Cheap consumer goods keep coming. Weak demand inside China pushes its clothing, furniture and appliance makers to sell abroad at low prices, which helps shoppers here but adds pressure on Pakistani textile and light-engineering firms already hit by the State Bank's rate rise to 12% (our story).

For businesses paying in yuan or dollars, the currency converter and our dollar rate page show today's rupee rates.