New railway attracts private capital

Shares in Taizhongyin Railway, an important transportation channel from western to central China, have begun to be listed on the China Beijing Equity Exchange, according to China Securities Journal.

The listing offers 8.016 percent of the shares.

The railway which starts in Taiyuan, Shanxi province, and runs to Yinchuan, in the Ningxia Hui autonomous region, requires buyers to have an initial capital of no less than 50 million yuan ($7.9 million) and pay the equity transfer price at one time. By the end of 2011, the railway had total assets of 43.31 billion yuan and total debt of 30.62 billion yuan.

If the transfer of listing succeeds, it will create a new way to attract private capital into the railway industry.

The railway has a total length of 944 kilometers with an investment of 30.32 billion yuan. Construction started in May 2006 and completed in January 2011. It has an annual transportation capacity of 60 million tons.

According to the exchange, the preliminary listing lasts from May 7 to June 29.

"To invest in the railway industry requires strong financial power so the final buyer may still be State-owned enterprises," an industrial insider said.