Advertisement

Finance issues stall funds for power projects

Reading Time:2 minutes
Why you can trust SCMP

MANY foreign-funded power projects in China have been stalled by issues related to finance which could hamper China's economic growth, says the latest Economist Intelligence Unit report.

Advertisement

The report came a day after the United States Commerce Secretary Ron Brown expressed frustration at the meagre headway made in power generation deals in China because of red tape.

According to the report, a quarter of the infrastructure projects approved by the State Planning Commission last year were in the power sector.

China relies on foreign-funded power plants to provide a significant portion of its new power capacity.

So far, the successful foreign-funded power plants of any significance were the Shajiao B and C stations in Guangdong, the report said.

Advertisement

The stations are to be built by Hopewell Holdings of Hong Kong through its subsidiary Consolidated Electric Power Asia.

The project, with a price tag of about US$1.85 billion, was the last of the plants to be built with foreign funds before Beijing's decision on rates of return and on foreign exchange put a brake on power projects.

loading
Advertisement