(Yicai Global) Jan. 15 -- The southern Chinese city of Guangzhou has followed Beijing in predicting economic growth to slow this year to between 6 percent and 6.5 percent.

Guangzhou's main goal is to steady its economic growth, while increasing fixed-asset investment by about 8 percent, Mayor Wen Guohui said in a government work report. Beijing said the rate of expansion in its gross domestic product may stay as low as 6 percent, Yicai Global reported yesterday. 

Guangzhou will focus on building a strong manufacturing industry this year, Wen said. The city will support sectors related to cars, electronics, petrochemicals, electricity and other strong traditional industries through technological reform, as well as mergers and acquisitions.

The city aims to raise the retail sales of tangible consumer goods by about 7 percent and lift the value of trade by about 3 percent.

It is also planning to build a 4K ultra high-definition video technology demonstration zone, promote fifth-generation wireless mobile network research and development, and speed up an upgrade toward Internet Protocol version 6.

The city's R&D expenditures are expected to account for 2.8 percent of local GDP. The local government's budget revenue may rise 5 percent, which helps to prevent financial risks, according to the mayor. 

Greater Bay Area

Guangzhou will speed up the construction of over 590 key municipal projects, with an investment of CNY308.7 billion (USD45.7 billion), which is over 17 percent more than last year. The city will also fully promote the development of the Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao Greater Bay Area this year, Wen added.

Last year, the city's GDP was expected to gain 6.5 percent to CNY2.3 trillion (USD 340.6 billion), while the public budget's revenue was estimated at CNY163.2 billion, up 9.9 percent. 

The per capita disposable income of urban residents was projected to rise 8 percent in 2018 and that of rural inhabitants was expected to climb 10 percent. The city predicted the number of high-tech enterprises to exceed 10,000.

Guangzhou invested CNY281.3 billion in key projects last year, which led to an increase of 8 percent in fixed-asset investment. High-tech manufacturing more than doubled its quota, while industrial investment rose by a half. 

Over 5,300 foreign-funded firms, which was more than double the number from 2017, moved to the city in 2018. Over 300 of the world's top 500 firms invested in the city last year when the actual use of foreign capital was USD6.7 billion, an annual jump of 6.5 percent. The actual use of foreign investment in manufacturing tripled from a year earlier.

Editor: Emmi Laine