Encouragement for public-private partnerships

DELIVERING THE GOVERNMENT WORK REPORT on Sunday at the opening of the fifth plenary session of the 12th National People's Congress, China's top legislature, Premier Li Keqiang said more should be done to energize the non-public sector. Beijing Youth Daily commented on Wednesday:

This year's Government Work Report bodes well for the development of the non-public economy and private capital that contributes much to the country's economic vitality and sustainability.

By urging full implementation of policies in favor of private capital, including the pursuit of a healthy, transparent, and incorruptible relationship between governments and entrepreneurs, the report put great emphasis on reducing the institutional barriers to private investors.

It also encouraged private enterprises to partake in the ongoing reform of State-owned enterprises, while offering them equal market entry.

This should serve as a golden opportunity for private investors aiming to grab a share in sectors such as electricity, gas, transportation, telecommunications, and even the defense industry.

In the past few years, a number of public-private partnership projects have been given the cold shoulder by local governments, some of which had a bad credit record and only paid lip service to the requests of private investors.

That the latest Government Work Report explicitly requires local governments to carry through their agreements with private investors conveys a message that the promotion of public-private partnerships is likely to pick up.

It is estimated that about 800 billion yuan ($116 billion) will be invested in railway construction, 1.8 trillion yuan in road and waterway transportation, and some 15 major water conservancy projects will start construction this year.