BEIJING, Jan 24: China's economy, the world's fourth-largest, probably grew by 10.5pc last year, a top tax official said Wednesday.

"Gross domestic product is estimated to have risen by 10.5 per cent last year," Xie Xuren, the head of the State Administration of Taxation, told reporters at a press conference.

The figure is almost the same as the 10.4 per cent growth recorded in 2005, according to revised figures published earlier this week.In the first three quarters of 2006, China's economy expanded by 10.7 per cent, according to figures released earlier by the National Bureau of Statistics.

Xie’s figure for economic growth in 2006 was the same as an estimate from the NDRC published earlier this month.—AFP