The preliminary purchasing managers index (PMI) for Chinese manufacturing issued by the Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation (HSBC) has declined to 47.8 points for August, the lowest level of the past nine months. This compares to a final reading of 49.3 points for July.
The sub-index for new export orders in August declined to 44.7, down from 46.7 in July and constituting the lowest level since March 2009, while the employment sub-index was stable at 47.7 in August, remaining below the threshold of 50 for the sixth straight month.
In a statement, HSBC chief economist for China Qu Hongbin said that, to achieve its stated policy goal of stabilizing growth and the jobs market, Beijing must increase infrastructure investment in the coming months.