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Will further open up select sectors to private firms: China’s Cabinet
June 23, 2016, 5:26 am

Chinese Premier Li Keqiang (C, back) presides over a symposium in Beijing, capital of China, on June 20, 2016 [Xinhua]

Chinese Premier Li Keqiang (C, back) presides over a symposium in Beijing, capital of China, on June 20, 2016 [Xinhua]

Chinese Premier Li Keqiang, after chairing a cabinet meet on Wednesday, signalled that China will further open up sectors such as telecommunications, airports and oil and gas exploration to private investment.

Li called on central and local government departments to take concrete steps to boost private investment further unleashing business potential in the private sector.

“Building up strong confidence in private investment is important to China’s economic growth when it is slowing down,” Li said.

Li was speaking after the Cabinet heard reports from a related inquiry on the implementation of private investment policies.

Chinese policies to encourage private investment had been beset by problems, the cabinet said in a statement .

China would introduce measures to improve private investment, including dealing with issues such as unfair competition, a lack of market access and difficulty getting financing, the cabinet said.

Investment by private firms slowed to a record low for the January-May period, with growth cooling to 3.9 per cent from 5.2 per cent in Jan-April and double digits last year. Private investment accounts for about 60 per cent of overall investment in China.

Li said accomplishing goals in nurturing new economic driving forces, developing a new economy and carrying out a supply-side reform among other structural ones require the development of privately-run small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in China.

“Otherwise, we will not achieve the goal we set,” he said.

Private investment accounts for 80 per cent of jobs in China, more than half of the tax revenue as well as 67 per cent of China’s direct outbound investment.

 

TBP and Agencies