2014年9月17日星期三

Large investment in coal cools down amid industrial shift in Shanxi



Large investment in coal cools down amid industrial shift in Shanxi


















Large investment in coal cools down amid industrial shift in Shanxi






The coal sector in North ­China's Shanxi Province, one of the nation's leading coal producers, is losing its investment appeal as the province shifts to the ­development of non-coal industries.According to data published by the Shanxi Provincial Bureau of Statistics Thursday, investment in the sector for the first half of the year was 35.55 billion yuan ($5.7 billion), down by 11.4 percent from the previous year. Investment in non-coal sectors totaled 125.5 billion yuan, an increase of 28.1 percent year-on-year.The decrease came after industry profits diminished amid falling demand.The aggregate price of coal in Shanxi sagged to 401 yuan per ton in the first quarter of this year, down from 656 yuan per ton in 2011, largely due to economic downturn and excessive capacity."Of all the coal companies in Shanxi, a quarter are making thin profits, a quarter are going flat, another quarter is losing money, while the rest have suspended production altogether," said Li Junfeng, vice president of Puda Coal Industry Co in Shanxi.In major coal-producing cities like Shuozhou, Yangquan, and Datong, small and medium-sized coal mines are shutting down due to tight budgets."There is a reshuffle coming for the coal industry," said Pei Xiping, manager of Shanxi Yangquan Coal Industry Co. "Coal companies nowadays have neither the money nor the willingness to invest in coal projects."As a result, the economy of Shanxi Province, which used to be fueled by the coal industry, is undergoing fast structural transformation, said Liu Wenbin, an official with the provincial statistics bureau."The government has focused more on fledgling industries such as manufacturing, coal chemical and photovoltaic," Liu said.With industrial transformation high on the agenda, the provincial government is also pushing forward the construction of transportation facilities like railway.Shanxi, with a coal output of 962.57 million tons in 2013, is second only to North China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region in coal production.





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