BEIJING -- China's industrial value-added output grew 10 percent year-on-year in the first nine months of this year, 0.5 percentage point lower than growth in the first half, the National Bureau of Statistics said Thursday.

The rate of growth was 0.5 percentage point lower than the first half of the year.

Industrial output expanded 9.2 percent year-on-year in September, up 0.3 percentage point from August, the bureau said.

A breakdown shows industrial value-added output of the heavy industry rose 9.3 percent from a year earlier in September, while the light industry grew 9 percent.

Analyzed by ownership, State-owned industrial enterprises registered a growth rate of 6.3 percent last month, while overseas-funded companies posted growth of 5.3 percent.

In September, the country's western regions saw industrial output growth of 12.4 percent, trailed by 9.5 percent in central regions and 8.3 percent in eastern regions.

NBS data released Thursday showed China's economy expanded 7.4 percent year-on-year in the third quarter of 2012, slowing from 7.6 percent in the second quarter and 8.1 percent in the first.