China’s state-owned enterprises to invest $1.49 trillion in ‘new infrastructure’

China’s State-owned enterprises (SOE) plan to invest over 10 trillion yuan ($1.49 trillion) in more than 1,300 “new infrastructure”-related projects across the country during the 14th Five-Year Plan period (2021-25), injecting new impetus into efforts to sustain economic growth, said senior State-asset regulators on Friday.

Unlike traditional infrastructures such as railways, roads, and water conservancy, the concept of “new infrastructure” refers to critical facilities based on information technologies like 5G, artificial intelligence, industrial internet, and the internet of things.

SOEs will accelerate the pace of reform and innovation, and focus on areas such as industrial security, the national economy, people’s livelihoods, and public services to promote the transformation and development of traditional sectors.

They will also bolster the growth of emerging industries, said Peng Huagang, secretary-general of the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of the State Council.

More than 700 subsidiaries of nearly 70 centrally administered SOEs have expanded their layout in the field of “new infrastructure”-related businesses, with an investment of more than 400 billion yuan in 2021.

In recent times, state-owned companies’ investment in emerging industries grew from less than 700 billion yuan in 2017 to more than 1.3 trillion yuan in 2021, with an average annual growth rate of more than 20 percent.

This report’s information was first seen on ChinaDaily; to read more, click this link.