SOEs to boost investment in Xinjiang

State-owned enterprises at the central level will boost its investment in the energy sector of the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region, a strategic area of China's energy base.

During the 12th Five-Year Plan (2011-15), SOEs plan to invest 700 billion yuan ($10.96 billion) in the region, engaging in projects mostly related to the energy business, according to the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission.

China Huadian Corporation, one of China's top five power generating companies - plans to invest 46.2 billion yuan to build a 4 billion cubic meter gasification project. By 2015, its installed capacity in Xinjiang will reach more than 10 million kilowatts.

Meanwhile, China Guodian Corporation will invest more than 100 billion yuan in a chemical industry plant.

Xinjiang recorded 10.7 percent economic growth for the first half of the year, 2.9 percentage points higher than the national growth rate, the region's authorities said earlier this week.

The region's GDP for the first half was worth 260.1 billion yuan.