China is accelerating the pace of expressway construction by drawing funds from overseas and domestic capital markets.

According to statistics, ten construction companies in China have issued A-, B- and H-shares, and have raised 15.2 billion yuan (1.83 billion US dollars).

The Guangdong Expressway Joint-Stock Company took the lead by issuing B-shares in August 1996; the Anhui Wantong Expressway Joint-Stock Company became the first expressway enterprise to issue H-shares in November 1996; and in early 1998, the Hainan Expressway Joint-Stock Company became the first to issue A-shares.

The country plans to invest 15 billion US dollars in building a national expressway network with a combined length of 35,000 kilometers by 2010. China's expressway mileage has now surpassed 10,000 km.