Economy

Building materials industry expands despite property controls

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2010-08-02 16:36

BEIJING - China's building materials industry continued to expland in the first half, despite government attempts to cool the speculative housing market, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) announced Monday.

The country's cement production reached a monthly record of 172 million tons in June, bringing the total production to 848 million tons in the first half.

Related readings:  Cool-down won't freeze materials industry  Making a concrete choice for property  China won't relax property measures  Land supply up 135% in 1st half year

First-half production was up 17.5 percent year-on-year, said a statement on the MIIT website.

Production of sheet glass, which is used for windows in home construction, rose 15.2 percent year-on-year to 315 million weight boxes in the first half.

Production of ceremic tiles surged by 25 percent to 3.61 billion square meters in the first six months. Other building materials, such as flagstones, tiles and bricks, all saw fast growth, according to the MIIT statement.

The government adopted a series of measures to rein in soaring home prices and curb property market speculation in April. The measures included tighter scrutiny of applications for financing, limiting of loans for third-home purchases and higher downpayments for second homes.

The property market has started cooling as average housing prices in 70 major cities fell 0.1 percent in June from May.