Railway needs capital, private sources courted

Beijing (CNS) -- The Ministry of Railways (MOR), stricken with financing troubles and an alarmingly serious debt situation, plans to use private capital to fund railway projects.

The authority released an information document on Friday to invite potential investors.

In the first four months, MOR cut its fixed investment in nationwide railways by 48.3 percent, far short of the year's goal of 500 billion yuan (US$79.05 billion). Its asset-liability ratio jumped from 53.06 percent to 60.63 percent from 2009 to 2011.

Under these circumstances, lowering the threshold for private capital has become a life and death matter for the ministry.

A practical enforcement method is being formulated to break up the monopoly on the industry and provide a fair market environment for all companies in the field.