China may issue high-speed train tenders after long hiatus
2012-11-14 15:10:18China may issue at least 38.4 billion yuan of high-speed train tenders within the next two months reports Bloomberg. This will end a hiatus of more than a year following a fatal crash last year.
The business news agency cited Hong Kong-based Citigroup Inc, analyst Paul Gong, as saying that the government would probably seek bids for between 300 and 400 train sets with a set comprising of eight or 16 carriages, without specifying any time frame. Gong had earlier spoken to China's two train makers, CSR Corp and China CNR Corp.
It said the purchases would boost CSR Corp Ltd and China CNR Corp, the two big trainmakers whose shares had not yet recovered from a slump after the July 2011 disaster. According to analysts, the government may resume orders as it stepped up railway building as part of wider plans to stoke economic growth.
CSR had made preparations for possible tenders, it said in an e-mailed reply to Bloomberg News questions and China CNR said it expected demand for more high-speed trains as new lines opened.