China's software industry witnesses sluggish growth in H1

BEIJING: China's software industry grew at a moderate 10.6 per cent in the first half of 2012 compared to the robust 35.2 per cent last year due to the economic slowdown both at home and abroad, the government said on Sunday. 

The software sector's combined profits totaled 117 billion yuan (18.48 billion US dollars) in the first half, up 10.6 per cent from one year earlier, but the pace of growth slowed from 35.2 per cent surge in the same period last year, ministry of industry and information technology said.  

Business revenue climbed 26.2 per cent year on year to 1.1 trillion yuan in the January-June period, down 3.1 percentage points than the growth in the same period last year, the state-run Xinhua news agency reported. 

In the first six months, the sector's exports rose 11.7 per cent to 16.24 billion US dollars, 6 percentage points lower from the same period last year.

Analysts attributed the industry's slower growth to intensifying competition and weak external demand, the report said.