China slump 'may be even worse'

By: Sahibzada Zaheen Iqbal

OFFICIAL data due this week are expected to show growth in China slowing to its lowest rate since the global financial crisis. But some economists say they are turning up evidence that the true picture could be even worse.

China's National Bureau of Statistics is scheduled to report second-quarter gross domestic product growth on Friday, and according to a Dow Jones poll of 15 economists, it is likely to show the country's economy grew by 7.6 per cent from a year earlier. That is down from 8.1 per cent growth in the first quarter, and the slowest pace since the first quarter of 2009.