(Yicai  Global) March 16 -- China's fixed-asset investment slumped by 24.5  percent in the first two months of this year from a previous year to  CNY3.33 trillion (USD476.1 billion), much more than expected.

The  Yicai Chief Economist Confidence Index had predicted a 2.14 percent  decrease instead of the headline figure that the National Bureau of  Statistics published today.

Infrastructure  investment was down 30.3 percent while that of the manufacturing sector  fell as much as 31.5 percent. The tally of property development dropped  16.3 percent.

Editor: Emmi Laine