Nation to invest more in rail network
By Mai Dou (China Daily)
Updated: 2006-07-03 11:18
Last year, the company invested over 10.6 billion yuan (US$1.3 billion) in
China and posted a turnover of 44.3 billion yuan (US$5.5 billion).
Other
foreign companies are also aggressively expanding their businesses in China.
Bombardier, a global manufacturing leader in transportation solutions, has
signed an agreement with the railway ministry to set up a high-speed train
maintenance centre.
It has also supplied a number of high-speed
passenger cars. Its latest milestone is the delivery of the 1,000th metro car to
the southern city of Guangzhou.
"Bombardier continues to play an
important role in that objective (developing China's rail infrastructure) by
investing for the long-term in China, bringing technological expertise here and
building effective partnerships with in-country enterprises," says Stephane
Rambaud-Measson, president of Bombardier Transportation's global mainline and
metros division.
Areva's transmission and distribution (T&D) arm has
announced plans to spend 50 million euros (US$63 million) in the next three
years to double its manufacturing capacity in China.
The French company
will expand its presence by supplying products and technology, Philippe
Guillemot, CEO of Areva T&D, told China Business Weekly in an interview
earlier last month.
As for private investors in the country, analysts
say there will be more room for them to cash in on the construction and
operation business once the government comes up with more favourable financial
and taxation policies.
Expanding the rail network entails huge spending,
but this will not be sustainable if funding only comes from the government, says
NDRC's Wu.
China's first railway to be built with private participation
will link Quanzhou and Changshan, two cities in East China's Fujian Province.
Changshan Cement Co Ltd, a local private company, will hold 32.5
per cent of the shares, with the remaining split between the railway ministry
and the local government.
(For more biz stories, please visit Industry Updates)
|
