Senior officials have been reprimanded by Beijing for failing to regulate new projects and ordered to bring capital investment under control, the South China Morning Post reported. The State Council said that spending on new factories and property was growing "too fast" and "too much" to maintain economic stability. Between January and October, fixed-asset investment grew 26.9%, accelerating from the 26.4% growth seen in the period from January to September. In a bid to tighten the approvals process, agencies involved in town planning, land resources, the environment, construction and statistics have been told to communicate more effectively. Officials and project owners who break the rules will be punished. However, China International Capital Corp chief economist Ha Jiming said he still expected fixed-asset investment to accelerate in 2008.
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