Transparency, investor protection improved
China's Public-Private Partnership (PPP) projects are growing at a steady pace, with fast expansion seen in the pipeline of projects and improvements in transparency and protection for investors, said a Monday report by Moody's Investors Service.
More progress could be made by the end of this year, as more policies from local governments are expected to lower the threshold for the PPP model, domestic media reports also suggested on Monday.
China's PPP project pipeline has continued to grow this year, according to the Moody's report sent to the Global Times. At the end of June 2017, the number of PPP projects grew 20.4 percent from the end of 2016 to 13,554, the report said, citing data from China's Ministry of Finance. And the total investment value of the projects increased 21.5 percent to 16.4 trillion yuan ($2.47 trillion) at end-June 2017, it said.
Among the projects, 20 percent were at the implementation stage, compared to 17 percent at the same time in 2016, according to the report.
The transparency of the regulations and protection for investors have also improved. "Positive developments in China's PPP regulatory framework provide increased transparency on the development process and create new financing options," it said. "Increased regulatory transparency for longer-term financing instruments, like PPP-backed securitizations, provides greater clarity for private sector investors."
Meanwhile, the Shenzhen-based Securities Times newspaper reported on Monday that local governments are poised to release a fresh round of policies to support PPP development, following a notice from the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), China's top economic planning agency, in recent days.
The notice encouraged governments, financial institutions and companies to pursue the PPP model, according to the Securities Times, which added that the new round of local policies will "further lower the threshold for the PPP model."
Provinces such as North China's Hebei and Central China's Hubei have already signaled the promotion of the PPP model, the report said.
