The railway ministry in Wenzhou is seeking to raise 1.5 billion yuan from corporate and individual investors for a 16 billion yuan worth of railway project, the Chinanews.com reported, in its first attempt to channel private investments into public projects
The report said that investors snagged up stakes of the project with nearly CNY 60 million on Wednesday, the first day open for subscription, and the favor continued into the second day.
The project is among three railway constructions planned during 2012-2018, which have already been approved by the central government, with a combined investment of CNY 43.2 billion.
The confidence comes against a broader backdrop of financial reforms in Wenzhou, which aims at formalizing private lending to reduce financial risks, and testing water for liberalization of the country's capital account transactions.
Wenzhou, in eastern Zhejiang province, is known throughout China as a Mecca for private entrepreneurship and grey-market lending.
