China's software sector growth rate slows

Software business revenue in China went up 24.2 percent in the first five months of the year from the same period in 2012, but the growth rate was 3 percentage points lower year on year, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology said.

The growth rate was 1 percentage point lower than that in the first four months, according to the ministry.

Revenue topped 1.1 trillion yuan (178.54 billion U.S. dollars) in the first five months.

The sector's exports stood at 14.1 billion U.S. dollars for the five-month period, up 10.1 percent year on year.

Among the exports, the outsourcing services sector hit 3.36 billion U.S. dollars, up 16.5 percent year on year.