Nearly three billion yuan of foreign funds was invested in
China's railway sector in 2006, according to the Ministry of
Railways (MOR).
This is the first time that the MOR has released details about
the amount of foreign investment in Chinese railway sector.
Analysts say that this reflects more open financial policies in
the industry, as foreign investment made up less than two percent
of the 155.3 billion yuan (US$20.1 billion) of investment in
railway infrastructure in 2006.
The financing channels for railway construction in China have
widened in recent years. Of the railway investment in 2006, no more
than 60 billion yuan came from traditional sources such as treasury
bills, bank loans and local government investments while a whopping
100 billion yuan was sourced from the stock market, private
investment and a negligible amount of foreign investment.
China has boosted its railway transport capacity in the last two
decades but still can not meet market demand, whether in terms of
passenger or freight capacity.
The investment in railway infrastructure in 2007 would be 256
billion yuan, minister of railways Liu Zhijun said early this
year.
(Xinhua News Agency April 7, 2007)