Japan's capital spending jumps 11 pct in Jan.-March quarter

TOKYO, June 1 (Xinhua) -- Capital spending by Japanese companies in the January-March period rose 11 percent year on year, posting an eighth straight quarter of gains, the Finance Ministry data showed on Thursday.

Investment by all nonfinancial sectors for purposes such as building factories and adding equipment totaled 16.54 trillion yen (119 billion U.S. dollars), marking the fastest gain since July-September in 2015, led by a recovery in car output and chipmaking as well as service-sector investment in real estate, the ministry said.

Capital expenditure by manufacturers increased 11.3 percent, as automakers built new plants for electric vehicles, while investment by non-manufacturers grew 10.8 percent, led by spending on property development projects.

The latest figures will be reflected in revised gross domestic product data for the quarter, to be released by the Cabinet Office on June 8.