China to regulate investment in lead-zinc industries
(Xinhua)
Updated: 2006-10-12 17:01
BEIJING - China is to regulate its lead-zinc industries to cool down
investment in the sector, China's state authority has said.
The National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) and eight other
authorities jointly issued a circular on Wednesday announcing six entries of
measures to curb oversupply.
According to the circular, China will tighten market access to the lead-zinc
industry by ensuring companies that are qualified in production safety,
environmental protection and resource and energy consumption.
The circular said the government will strengthen its management of the import
and export of lead and zinc products by improving tariff policies, but specific
details were not released.
One hundred and sixty-nine lead-zinc smelting projects
are under construction in China, with a total investment of 12.5 billion yuan (US$1.56
billion). When they start operation, the annual output of lead and zinc products
will rise by 1.9 million tons and 2.9 million tons, respectively, according to
the circular.
China has pledged to limit the annual output of refined lead to below 4
million tons and that of zinc to below 5 million tons, the circular said. In
2005, China produced 5 million tons of lead products and 3.4 million tons of
zinc products.
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