Guangdong to get 40b yuan infrastructure boost

Guangdong is getting a multibillion-dollar shot in the arm to kick-start infrastructure and other projects.

China Development Bank has signed 40 billion yuan (HK$48.95 billion) in financing deals with municipal governments, including those of Zhongshan and Qingyuan, and transport groups in the province.

'This will alleviate the financing difficulties of major projects and construction activities in Guangdong,' the bank said on its website.

The State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission (Sasac) said on its website that Nam Kwong Group had signed an agreement with the municipal government of Zhuhai to invest at least 10 billion yuan in the city, which adjoins Macau.

Nam Kwong is a state-owned enterprise directly under Sasac and headquartered in Macau. The company will invest in several areas, including the Hengqin Island development zone, logistics, tourism and hotels.

Separately, China Communications Construction (CCC), the Guangdong branch of the National Development and Reform Commission and Guangdong Finance Investment Holdings, an investment company owned by the province, signed an agreement this week to set up an infrastructure fund, CCC said.

The fund would initially have 5 billion yuan to invest in infrastructure, reclamation and urban development projects in Guangdong, with plans to increase that over time to 30 billion yuan, it said.

The chief executive of CCC, Liu Qitao, said the company had invested most heavily in Guangdong and planned to increase its investments through the infrastructure fund. CCC is a state-owned port construction company listed in Hong Kong and Shanghai.

Hong Kong's richest man, Li Ka-shing, recently increased his investment in Yantian port in Shenzhen.

On June 23, his port company, Hutchison Port Holdings (HPH), signed an agreement with Shenzhen Yantian Port Holdings, a Shenzhen government-owned port operator, to increase its investment in Shenzhen Yantian West Port Terminals to 4.88 billion yuan from 1.04 billion yuan, HPH said.

Of the 3.84 billion yuan of additional investment, HPH would contribute 873.15 million yuan in cash, and Shenzhen Yantian Port Holdings would contribute 470.16 million yuan of land use rights for two plots of land measuring 28,739 square metres and 23,595 sq m. The rest of the investment would be financed by loans.

HPH Trust, established in February last year, is listed in Singapore.

The Shenzhen government plans to increase the city's maritime gross domestic product to 150 billion yuan, or 10 per cent of the city's overall GDP, in 2015, from 88.8 billion yuan in 2010, the Shenzhen Ports Association said.

10b yuan

Amount in yuan that Nam Kwong Group, a state-owned enterprise under Sasac, has agreed to invest in Zhuhai, which adjoins Macau