Shanghai, September 23 (Gasgoo.com) China's Ministry of Railways (MOR) has begun floating the first batch of bonds this year to raise 30 billion yuan ($4.41 billion) to support railway network expansion, xinhuanet.com reported today.
The bond issue on the inter-bank bond market comprised 20 billion yuan of 10-year bonds and 10 billion yuan of 15-year bonds, with a bidding yield rate range of 4.8% to 5%, said the MOR Tuesday. Six securities brokerages, including Citics Securities, will underwrite the bonds sale.
Proceeds from the bond issue would be used to construct 32 new rail lines including a passenger line linking the two northeastern cities of Dalian and Harbin, which will boast a speed of 350 kilometers an hour.
The National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), China's top economic planner, gave the green light last year to the MOR to issue 100 billion yuan of bonds, mainly to facilitate construction of 43 railway projects and locomotive purchases.
China plans to extend its rail network to 100,000 km by 2020 from 76,600 km in 2006, with an estimated 2 trillion yuan investment. It will build 42 high-speed railway lines for passenger transportation in the next three years.
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