Local govts' revenue rises, backed by property deals

The revenue of local governments rallied in the first two months of the year, driven by surging tax income from an increasing number of property transactions, the Ministry of Finance said on Wednesday.

In January and February, nationwide fiscal revenue rose 7.2 percent to 2.24 trillion yuan ($360.2 billion), among which the revenue of the central government increased 1.6 percent and that of local governments was up 12.9 percent.

"The increased revenue of local governments was mainly a result of the larger sales volume in the housing market, which increased tax-collection revenue for local finance authorities," according to a statement on the website of the ministry.