In the January-September period of the year, China issued RMB 3.0367 trillion of new local government bonds, using up the planned allocation for the whole of 2019, two months earlier than the planned allocation for 2018 was used up, according to the data issued by China’s Ministry of Finance (MOF).
Hao Lei, deputy director of the MOF’s budget department, stated that in the given period over 40 percent of new local government bonds have been used in construction projects, mainly supporting transportation infrastructure, social programs and rural revitalization projects.
Investments in railways, roads, ports, social programs such as municipal construction, ecological and environmental protection projects, old-age care, education, culture and health, projects in agriculture and rural areas, and water conservation projects accounted for more than 63 percent of new local government bonds issued in the January-September period.
As previously reported, new government bonds for the coming year will be issued as early as the end of October, which will boost the infrastructure construction in China and provide solid support for steel demand.