China lowers capital ratio requirement for some infrastructure projects

China will lower the minimum capital ratio requirement for some infrastructure investment projects, state television CCTV said on Wednesday, citing a cabinet meeting chaired by Premier Li Keqiang.

The minimum capital investment ratio for ports and shipping infrastructure projects will be lowered to 20% from 25%, while that for highways, railways, environmental protection, and social services infrastructure projects can be decided on a case-to-case basis, with the decrease capped at 5%.

Typically, infrastructure projects are financed by both equity and debt, but they need to meet a minimum equity ratio requirement prior to leveraging up through borrowing.