China to punish those leaking economy, inflation data

China’s statistics bureau said it “condemned” leaks of economic data and those responsible would be punished, after the office released yesterday economic indicators matching rumors circulating in the market and online.

“We believe any illegal behavior will be punished by law,” Sheng Laiyun, a spokesman for the department, told a briefing in Beijing today. “Those spreading state secrets on the Internet or other public information networks should be held accountable.”

China’s first-quarter growth figure and other monthly economic data, including the inflation rate, were leaked yesterday, ahead of the official release. Phoenix Satellite Television Holdings reported 10 economic indicators on its website yesterday morning, citing an unidentified source. Figures released later yesterday by China’s central bank and today by the National Bureau of Statistics matched nine of the numbers. Hong Kong-based Phoenix Television declined to comment.

“Key data are widely circulated in the Chinese bureaucracy prior to their release,” said Brian Jackson, an emerging markets strategist at Royal Bank of Canada in Hong Kong. “The recent accuracy of market rumors must raise concerns about the integrity of the process.”

China grew a more-than-estimated 9.7 per cent in the first quarter.