China's property investment rises 18.3% y/y in Jan-May

BEIJING, June 16 (Reuters) - Real estate investment in China rose 18.3% in the period from January to May over the corresponding period a year earlier, official data showed on Wednesday, cooling from grwoth of 21.6% seen in the first four months of the year.

Property sales by floor area increased 36.3% in the first five months, data from the National Bureau of Statistics showed, compared with annual growth of 48.1% in the first four months of the year.

New construction starts measured by floor area rose 6.9% from a year earlier, versus an increase of 12.8% in the first four months of the year.

Funds raised by China's property developers grew 29.9% on the year, down from growth of 35.2% in the first four months.

(Reporting by Colin Qian, Lusha Zhang and Ryan Woo; Editing by Clarence Fernandez)