BEIJING (AFP) -- China's urban fixed asset investments posted a robust rise in the first 11 months, the government said Friday, suggesting it was still a long way away from reining in Asia's second-largest economy.

Spending on fixed assets in the cities rose 26.8 percent in the period from January to November compared with a year earlier, the National Bureau of Statistics said.
Overall urban fixed assets investment -- a key measure of spending on items such as plants, equipment, and infrastructure -- for the period was 10.1 trillion yuan (1.4 trillion dollars), the bureau said in a statement.
No figure for November alone was given. However, the full 11-month data indicated no major change during the month, as the first 10 months had seen an increase of 26.9 percent.
“In our view, the underlying growth momentum... remains robust, which is consistent with the strong import data,” investment bank Goldman Sachs said in a research note.
Imports increased at a faster rate than exports in November, rising 25.3 percent from a year earlier to 91.3 billion dollars, earlier customs data showed, suggesting strong demand derived from investment.
The fixed asset data came at the end of a week of statistics releases in China that indicated to varying degrees continued strong growth.
The most salient figure was a 6.9-percent rise in the consumer price index, marking the highest inflation figure since December 1996.
China has already hiked the interest rate five times this year, while raising the amount banks must keep in reserve 10 times.
These measures are all aimed at containing credit growth, which in turn is crucial in boosting investment.
Investment spending is a key engine of growth, and along with net exports it is the main reason why China's economy is likely to expand by about 11.5 percent in 2007, marking the fifth consecutive year of double-digit growth.
Policy makers led by Premier Wen Jiabao have struggled to rein in investment spending -- apparently with limited success.
The data published Friday gave an indication of why this might be the case, showing that projects approved by local governments accounted for 90 percent of total investment spending in the first 11 months.
It is widely believed that Beijing has difficulties reining in growth because local officials tend to easily approve investment projects, as they are concerned about unemployment and the potential for social unrest.
Fears have especially been mounting about a speculative bubble in the real estate sector, and Friday's figures may reinforce these concerns, showing a 31.8 percent rise in investment in property.
Some economists suggested that China's policy makers may gradually see some results from all their efforts.