Fitch Ratings said Chinese credit growth is slowing but still outpacing the expansion in the nation's gross domestic product. The ratings agency said in a report that the amount of new loans made in China was on course to fall below the level seen in the previous year for the first time since 2008, and that the "slowdown in credit is being met with an equivalent moderation in GDP growth, suggesting that the economic return on credit remains weak." The report estimated that every 1 yuan (15.8 U.S. cents) in new financing will yield only 0.39 yuan in new GDP in 2012, compared with a contribution of 0.73 yuan to the economy before the financial crisis. "It will be difficult to see a significant turnaround in economic growth absent a rebound in credit," said Charlene Chu, head of Chinese banks' ratings at Fitch.
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