orientated businesses had been unaccounted for. The adjustment led the National Development and Reform Commission, the nation's top economic planning body to overhaul its 2005 GDP growth forecast from 9.4 percent to 9.8 percent. The tax bureau also raised its estimate to 9.8 percent. Economists were pleased with the revaluation because it meant the economy was in better shape than previously thought. The details of the revisions also suggest that growth is on a more sustainable footing, Lehman Brothers economist Robert Subbaraman said in a note to clients. The imbalances had led to fears both at home and abroad that the massive amount of fixed-asset investment, which at times neared a nerve-wracking high of 50 percent of GDP, could lead to an inflationary crisis. But now that the economy is worth 284 billion dollars more, fixed asset investment levels, a major barometer of how much the government is spending on major infrastructure projects, have improved. It is likely that the investment-to-GDP ratio for 2004 will be revised down closer to 40 percent, said Subbaraman, who expects annual GDP growth of 9.8 percent with inflation to remain under control. Even China's consumption-to-GDP ratio, long a source of concern for a government looking to shift more of the economic burden to the consumer, has improved.
