China's 6.9% economic growth doesn't rhyme, says Marc Faber

There's reason to remain skeptical about China's economic growth, according to Marc Faber, editor and publisher of the Gloom, Boom & Doom report.

The world's second-largest economy has slowed even more than government figures suggest, as China is expanding at a rate of about 3 per cent to 4 per cent, Faber said in an interview on Bloomberg TV. Figures released October 18 from China's National Bureau of Statistics showed that GDP rose 6.9 per cent in the three months through September from a year earlier. "Growth figures that the government are publishing do not match the reality," and the most-recent estimate "doesn't rhyme," Faber said. "Evidence shows that it's nowhere growing at the same pace it was growing say between 2000 and 2007."

GDP growth in China averaged 10.5 per cent during that period, peaking at a 14-year high of 14.9 per cent in 2007, National Bureau of Statistics data show. The economy hasn't grown at the pace Faber suggests since figures have been collected starting in 1992. "I have no doubt that some service sectors are growing," but industrial production isn't, Faber said. He cited falling exports, imports and railway freight traffic among indicators that are "very negative."

Investors should be mindful of a credit bubble of "epic proportions," as well as the "very heavy capital flight" from Chinese investments, Faber said. "I would bet on the locals who are shifting money out of China at a record level at the present time."

"There is no real discussion, no obstacles, all seems on course," a second official said.