China Invests Heavily in Technological Renovation of SOEsChina has poured huge amounts of fund into the technological upgrading of key state-owned enterprises (SOEs) by allowing interest discounts on loans over the past two years, sources with the State Economic and Trade Commission (SETC) disclosed in Beijing Monday, January 8.Wang Dong, an official with the SETC's Investment and Planning Department, said that China issued 360 billion yuan (US$43.37 billion) in long-term construction bonds from 1998-2000, and 19.5 billion yuan (US$2.35 billion) of the proceeds was allocated for the renovation of enterprises in 1999 and 2000. Priority has been given to projects that focus on improving product varieties and quality for better efficiency, and since 1999, a total investment of 240 billion yuan (US$28.92 billion) has been mobilized for the development of 880 projects supported by state interest-discounted loans, he said. As a result, the overall performance of SOEs in key sectors has improved remarkably and investment. The SETC has decided to take further measures this year to ensure the proper use of the fund and to channel more social funds into enterprises' technical renovation, Wang added. |
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