China reported better-than-expected economy growth rate during the fourth quarter of 2016. However, its financial and real estate sector could not keep up the pace. The overall economy grew by 6.8 percent during the last quarter of the previous year.

According to the data released by the National Bureau of Statistics on Saturday, the main driver for growth during the fourth quarter was high bank lending and robust consumer spending. The country's service sector accounted for 58.2 percent of the economic growth in 2016, up by 5.3 percent on year-over-year basis.

Like Us on Facebook

The National Bureau of Statistics data provided a detailed breakdown of growth in various industrial sectors. It revealed that the Chinese real estate sector showed some signs of cooling. The growth in the sector for the quarter stood at 7.7 percent, down from 8.3 percent growth in the third quarter.

China's construction sector showed a 5.9 percent growth, down from six percent in the fourth quarter. However, the market confidence in new housing led to a spurt in December to touch 12.5 percent figure.

China's financial sector recorded 3.8 percent growth rate in the fourth quarter, showing a steep decline from 5.8 percent in the third quarter. Financial institutions had $3.9 trillion worth of loans extended to the real estate sector, as at the end of December 2016, up by 27 percent from the previous year.

However, the data also revealed that investors continued to pump money into new real estate projects during 2016 as the sector grew by 6.9 percent during the year.

Tagsreal estate, Financial Services, GDP