Chinese Manufacturing Growth Overtaken by Finance Amid IPO Boom

Chinese manufacturing grew slower than finance for the first time in years, turbocharged by capital raised through share sales during a quarter that saw a surprise rebound in the economy.

With gross domestic product gaining 5% in the first quarter, finance and manufacturing were among industries that saw a faster pickup than the economy as a whole, notching year-on-year growth of 6.5% and 6.3%, respectively. By contrast, expansion slowed in consumer-sensitive sectors like hotels and catering services, according to data released by the National Bureau of Statistics late last week.

Spanning activities from insurance and banking ...