High-speed railways to use social capital
China would make full use of social capital to construct high-speed railways and China's high-speed railway planning would not lead to any financial crisis, the Shanghai Securities News reported on Monday, citing a senior official.
There is no obstacle in policies and regulations and social capital is encouraged to invest in the construction of high-speed railways, Wang Zhiguo, vice minister of the Ministry of Railways, said on Saturday.
"Capital from local investment, strategic investors as well as listed companies, accounts for about 30 percent of the total capital input on railway construction," Wang said.
In-depth analysis, fine financial structure and reasonable debt level prevented China's railway construction from incurring financial crisis, Wang added. "China's railway debt ratio was 52 percent in 2009, far below that of many foreign railway companies."
China has the longest operational high-speed railway of 6,552 kilometers in the world, and 13,000 kilometers more will be completed by 2012, Wang said.
