With planned spending exceeding 5b yuan, firm wants to cut financing expenses
Shenzhen Expressway, the special economic zone's dominant toll road operator, plans to issue two billion yuan in short-term notes to reduce financing costs.
Financial controller Gong Taotao said yesterday that an application would be submitted to the mainland banking regulator, the People's Bank of China.
Tapping the bond market was cheaper than borrowing from banks, she said, with the planned note charging an interest rate one percentage point to 1.5 percentage points lower.
Ms Gong said that the group was also considering an issue of longer-term notes to meet future funding needs.
A cash outlay of 5.17 billion yuan spanning the five years to 2009 has been earmarked for its toll road projects.
In addition to the note issue, chairman Yang Hai said funding sources would come from internal resources and bank facilities of more than seven billion yuan.
