Ladies and Gentlemen,

In the fourth quarter of 2008, following the strategic decision of the CPC Central Committee and the State Council to stimulate domestic demand and promote stable and fairly rapid economic growth, the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) and the Ministry of Finance acted promptly to work out the Central Government Newly Added Investment Plan in accordance with the overall requirements of “speediness, forcefulness, effectiveness and accuracy” prescribed by the Central Government. Based on the investment areas identified and set forth by the Central Government, we drew up plans for three successive Central Government investment programs. Now, I would like to talk briefly about the investment arrangements and progress made so far in relevant construction projects.

1. Arrangements for Central Government investments

The first Central Government investment worth RMB100 billion was made in the fourth quarter of 2008, covering a total of six main areas, i.e. affordable housing, projects concerning people’s livelihood and infrastructure facilities in rural areas, key infrastructure facilities, social undertakings such as public health and education, environmental protection projects, independent innovations and structural reorganization.

The second Central Government investment of RMB130 billion was made in early 2009 also for the aforementioned six areas. Compared with the first investment, investment arrangements this time were further focused, concentrating relevant efforts and resources on targeted issues.

In April this year, in accordance with plans drawn up by the State Council based on an analysis of economic developments took place in the first quarter, another RMB70 billion was invested in the industries within the six areas specified above which are the most direct, effective and useful in terms of economic growth stimulation, including the rejuvenation of the ten key industries and the facilitation of structural reorganization and independent innovations.

2. Progress of projects invested by the Central Government

By the end of April 2009, smooth progress has been achieved for all the projects covered by the first two Central Government investment programs. A total of 214,000 low-rent houses have been basically completed; the transformation of 100,000 shantytown houses in coalmining areas is currently underway; 129,000 folk houses in sunken coalmining areas have been renovated; drinking water safety was ensured for approximately 14.6 million people living in rural areas; methane facilities for 1.6 million households have been constructed in rural areas; roads of approximately 20,000km in total length and electric grids of longer than 40,000km have been constructed in rural areas; a total of nearly 450 major water conservancy projects and 5,000 animal anti-epidemic systems have been basically completed, and 290 mid/large-size reservoirs basically reinforced; expressways of 445km in length and airport terminals of 100,000sqm in area have been built; approximately 6,500 medical and health service facilities and 1,140 birth-control projects at the community level have been basically completed; approximately 1.5 million square meters of school buildings in junior middle schools and 900,000sqm in secondary vocational schools at the countryside have been constructed; approximately 29 million mu (1,934,300 hectares) of forests have been planted; sewage treatment capacity has been increased to 2.83 million tons/day, and refuse disposal capacity to 3,155 tons/day; pipe networks of 2,548km in length have been laid down. In addition, RMB56 billion has been allocated under the third Central Government investment program, with the remaining investment funds expected to be released shortly.

3. Supporting measures to stimulate economic growth through increased investment

A series of supporting measures have been adopted by the Central Government to ensure the effective implementation of the policy of “stimulating economic growth through increased investment”.

Firstly, in view of the fund shortage among local governments, the State Council has instructed the Central Treasury to issue RMB200 billion worth of bonds on behalf of local governments. Secondly, with the approval of the State Council, we have revised the capital requirements for relevant projects on a systematic basis—capital requirements have been lowered in the case of industries prioritized by the Central Government, e.g. infrastructure facilities and basic industries, and tougher capital requirements have been imposed on “high energy consumption, high-pollution and (natural) resource-based” projects whose development needs to be constrained. Thirdly, the approval of bond issuance has been strengthened—RMB137.8 billion worth of bonds have been issued thus far in 2009. Fourthly, credit support has been increased—loans granted in the first quarter of 2009 amounted to RMB4.58 trillion, of which RMB1.87 trillion was contributed by mid/long-term loans, up by RMB1.07 trillion year on year. Fifthly, in a bid to strengthen the management of Central Government-invested projects, the Notice on Strengthening the Management of Projects Invested by the Central Government was issued by the NDRC in early 2009, followed by an open telegraph concerning the implementation of local investment plans and the acceleration in construction progress distributed in April, urging local governments and authorities to take actions to ensure the successful implementation of relevant projects. Meanwhile, we actively cooperated with the Central Inspection Team in the supervision and inspection of Central Government-invested projects. The Inspection Department of the NDRC issued circulars demanding immediate rectification of problems discovered during the inspection process. All the issues exposed have been solved on a case-by-case basis, which has facilitated the smooth progress of the projects.

Thank you!