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Li Changjin.

China Railway bullish on overseas business

Railway builder aims to triple foreign orders and revenue amid push from top leadership

China Railway Group aims to nearly triple its overseas orders and revenue within three years, driven by mainland leaders' "high-speed-rail" diplomacy.

One of the country's two dominant railway builders, the state-owned firm aims to boost its overseas orders to US$20 billion by 2016 from US$7 billion last year, and raise its overseas revenue to US$10 billion from US$3.72 billion.

"It is not hard to achieve this. Chinese leaders have been marketing Chinese railways abroad, wanting Chinese rail companies to go out," said China Railway's chairman Li Changjin.

Mainland leaders were actively involved in high-speed-rail diplomacy, and the central government had been pushing for cross-border railways to neighbouring Southeast Asian nations like Myanmar, Cambodia and Vietnam, said Yu Tengqun, China Railway's board secretary and joint company secretary.

Last year, Premier Li Keqiang promoted Chinese railways to the Thai government during his visit to the country, Li Changjin said.

In March, Thailand's Constitutional Court ruled as unconstitutional legislation to finance the government's rail and logistics plan, which included high-speed-rail links between northeast Thailand and southern China through Laos, Xinhua said.

Listed both in Shanghai and Hong Kong, China Railway had been on the verge of signing some overseas deals, which were suddenly shelved, Li said.

Last year, the company signed a US$7.5 billion contract to build a mine railway in Cambodia, but construction had not started owing to funding problems, he said.

It also did the preliminary survey and design for a high-speed railway in Kazakhstan, while the Russian government has asked the Chinese firm to provide technology for a railway project in the country.

"We have been invited to take part in a Brazilian high-speed-rail project, but overseas high-speed-rail projects take a long time to materialise," Li said.

In contrast, rail projects from China to Laos and Myanmar had a good chance of starting construction soon, he said.

China Railway was involved in the survey and design of the China-Laos railway as well as the feasibility study of the railway to Myanmar, Li added.

This article appeared in the South China Morning Post print edition as: China Railway bullish on overseas business
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