Upturn in industrial output Industrial output

rose by 10.9 per cent yearon- year in the first quarter of 2002, according to the National Bureau of Statistics. The increase was an improvement on the 8.7 per cent annual growth rate reported for December 2001. Output of heavy industry rose by 10.9 per cent over the period, while that of light industry rose by 11.3 per cent, outpacing heavy industry for the first time since 1998. The output of state firms rose by 8.7 per cent and the output of foreign-invested firms by 10.5 per cent.