CASS: China to grow by 7.3% in 2014

China's economic growth is expected to slow down to 7.3 percent in 2014 from 7.7 percent last year, according to a report released by an official think tank on Friday.

In its report titled "Chinese Economy Situation Analysis and Prediction," the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS) attributed the slowdown mainly to "remarkable deceleration in growth of real estate investment."

Government efforts to boost infrastructure investment have failed to offset the drop in property investment resulting from financing constraints and low rates of return on investment, said the report.

Softness in the housing market, which used to serve as a major boost for the Chinese economy, is increasingly becoming a drag on other parts of the world's second-largest economy.

Property investment, which affects more than 40 other sectors from cement and steel to furniture, rose 13.2 percent in the first eight months from the same period a year ago, slower than the 13.7-percent rise in the first seven months, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said in September.

This marks the seventh consecutive month for real estate investment to decline, according to the NBS.

China's economy grew 7.7 percent in 2013, steady from 2012, but the lowest level since 2001.

In the first half of 2014, China's economy expanded 7.4 percent from a year earlier. The country is scheduled to release its third-quarter economic data on October 21.

The CASS's prediction, which is lower than the official growth target of 7.5 percent set earlier this year, is more conservative compared to the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund's 7.4 percent and HSBC's 7.5 percent forecast.