BEIJING, April 20: Chinese investors were ready on Friday for what most considered to be inevitable government moves to rein in the economy, after first-quarter growth figures showed previous efforts had been far too little.

But questions also emerged if any further measures Beijing could realistically adopt would matter much.

The fact that China reported growth of 11.1 per cent in the first quarter -- despite a slew of policies to slow down activity -- was seen as a sign the world's fourth-largest economy is becoming harder to manage.

“There have been three interest rate hikes over the past year and all of them proved to have little impact on the property market,” said Joe Zhou, a Shanghai-based analyst with real estate consulting firm Jones Lang LaSalle.

“Developers won't stop construction just because of a small interest rate rise.”

Property professionals were not the only ones looking at future government economic moves with an attitude bordering on apathy.

In the same period, liquidity-driven investments in fixed assets grew 23.7 per cent, in defiance of official steps to rein in the amount of money floating around in the system.—AFP