By Maki Shiraki
TOKYO, Dec 8 (Reuters) - Komatsu Ltd 6301.T , the world's second-largest maker of construction and mining equipment, on Tuesday said it anticipated a tough 2016 because of the uncertain growth outlook for China and as a global mining slump continues.
"On the whole, we see fewer regions which will show signs of growth. It's going to be tough," CEO Tetsuji Ohashi told reporters on Tuesday.
He added that construction projects may continue to dwindle in China, where economic growth is easing after years of rapid expansion. Komatsu in October said it expects net profit to fall about 10 percent to 138 billion yen in the year to March 2016.
The OECD forecasts China's economy to grow 6.8 percent this year, while slowing to 6.5 percent next year and cool further to 6.2 percent in 2017. urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL9N0YN02P
Ohashi said deliveries of its driverless dump trucks to mining giant Rio Tinto (L:RIO) RIO.AX under a contract announced in 2011 would be delayed past the initial 2015 end-date, without specifically giving details on the contract.
Rio Tinto said earlier on Tuesday that it planned to cut its capital spending budget by about $500 million in 2016.