Tuesday, November 25, 2008

Yuan Watch : Foreign funds needed

By Xin Dingding (China Daily)Updated: 2008-11-26 07:49

The authorities are calling for more foreign investment in road and port construction next year, in line with plans to spur domestic demand in the sector, a transport official said Tuesday.
Road and port infrastructure projects will need 1 trillion yuan ($147 billion) of investment next year, up from about 800 billion yuan needed this year, Li Xinghua, deputy director of the planning department of the Ministry of Transport, told a press conference Tuesday.

"The gap in capital financing next year means more foreign capital is needed," he said.
Past road constructions have preferred domestic funds over foreign capital because they were said to offer "more favorable terms than foreign loans", Li said.
But the amount of foreign funds in road construction is "sure to exceed" that of the past, he said.
The country currently uses $600 million to $800 million of loans from the World Bank, Asian Development Bank and foreign governments each year for building roads, with the amount of funds expected to increase next year, Li said.

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