On September 19, Guangdong Provincial Bureau of Statistics released economic data for the first eight months. The data shows that from January to August, the province's industrial added value above designated size increased by 2.2% year-on-year. Among these sectors, the robot and drone industries demonstrated strong development momentum. Meanwhile, investment in scientific research and innovation increased significantly, with research and experimental development investment growing by 15.4%.

**Automobile Manufacturing Industry Grows 8.3%**

From January to August, the province's industrial added value above designated size grew by 2.2% year-on-year. By category, mining industry added value increased by 0.5%, manufacturing grew by 2.6%, while electricity, heat, gas, and water production and supply decreased by 1.8%.

Key industries provided stable support. Computer, communication and other electronic equipment manufacturing added value increased by 7.0%, electrical machinery and equipment manufacturing grew by 6.5%, and automobile manufacturing increased by 8.3%. Petroleum, coal and other fuel processing industry added value grew by 7.8%; general equipment manufacturing increased by 5.7%; railway, ship, aerospace and other transportation equipment manufacturing surged by 12.7%. By product category, the robot and drone industries showed strong development momentum, with industrial robots, service robots, and civilian drone production increasing by 32.1%, 17.3%, and 54.7% respectively.

**Market Sales Show Steady Growth**

From January to August, the province's total retail sales of consumer goods increased by 3.2% year-on-year. By business location, urban consumption grew by 3.4%, while rural consumption increased by 1.3%.

Trade-in related commodity categories maintained relatively fast growth rates, with home appliances and audio-visual equipment, sports and entertainment products, construction and decoration materials, cultural and office supplies, and communication equipment above designated size increasing by 37.1%, 33.1%, 31.2%, 29.8%, and 19.4% respectively. Automobile consumption growth accelerated, with new energy vehicles above designated size growing by 4.1%, an increase of 0.9 percentage points compared to the January-July period.

**Sports Investment Grows 18.2%**

From January to August, the province's fixed asset investment decreased by 12.4% year-on-year. Large-scale equipment upgrade policies supported equipment and instrument procurement investment, which grew by 0.8%.

Investment in people's livelihood sectors continued to strengthen, with railway transportation, water transportation, aviation transportation, and electricity and heat production and supply investments growing by 9.7%, 46.1%, 37.2%, and 13.2% respectively. Sports investment increased by 18.2%. Industrial investment accounted for 37.8% of total investment, with industrial technological transformation investment growing by 0.4%, representing 35.5% of industrial investment, an increase of 3.7 percentage points compared to the same period last year.

Investment in scientific research and innovation increased significantly, with research and experimental development investment growing by 15.4%. Modern service industry investment grew rapidly, with internet and related services investment and software and information technology services investment increasing by 63.8% and 14.5% respectively. Real estate development investment fell by 19.0%; commercial housing sales area decreased by 11.7%, narrowing by 16.8 and 10.1 percentage points compared to the same period last year and the full previous year respectively.

**Both CPI and PPI Declines Narrow**

In August, the province's Consumer Price Index (CPI) fell by 0.2% year-on-year, with the decline narrowing by 0.1 percentage points compared to July. Food prices decreased by 1.9%, while non-food prices increased by 0.2%; consumer goods prices fell by 0.5%, while service prices rose by 0.3%. From January to August, CPI declined by 0.3%, with the decline narrowing by 0.1 percentage points compared to the January-July period.

In August, the province's Producer Price Index (PPI) fell by 1.8% year-on-year, with the decline narrowing by 0.2 percentage points compared to July; the Industrial Producer Price Index (IPI) decreased by 3.5%, with the decline narrowing by 0.6 percentage points. From January to August, PPI and IPI declined by 1.5% and 2.9% respectively.