BEIJING, July 24 (Portal) – China’s state planner on Monday unveiled measures aimed at promoting, stimulating and boosting private investment in some infrastructure sectors, saying it will strengthen financing support for private projects.
The latest announcement comes at a time when China last week pledged to upgrade the private sector, releasing Communist Party and cabinet guidelines as authorities vowed to make it “bigger, better and stronger” amid a faltering post-pandemic economic recovery.
The National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) said in a statement it wants to attract more private capital to participate in the construction of major national projects.
The NDRC said in the statement that a list of sectors ranging from transport, water, clean energy, new infrastructure to advanced manufacturing and modern agriculture will be available for private investors to participate in, the statement said. More details will be announced later, it said.
In recent weeks, investors have bet on further stimulus measures to prop up an economy that has been rapidly losing momentum after its initial post-COVID recovery. However, some step-by-step moves announced by the authorities have disappointed markets.
In guidelines released last week, China said it will create a “traffic light system” to clarify which areas private investors can invest in.
“The importance of improving private investment should be fully recognised” and the NDRC will strive to keep private fixed investment as a proportion of all investment at “appropriate levels”, the statement said.
Private fixed investment fell 0.2% yoy in the first six months, in contrast to an 8.1% rise in government investment, official data showed last week, underlining weak private sector confidence.
The NDRC also pledged to increase financial support for privately invested projects.
The NDRC will set up a special fund from the central government budget to support 20 cities with high private investment growth and strong policy implementation annually, the statement said.
Reporting by Ellen Zhang and Bernard Orr; Edited by Kim Coghill
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