Tax rebate policy

    CHINA will maintain its tax rebate policy for steel exports as part of its efforts to help the sector tackle its longstanding overcapacity problems, the country’s finance ministry said yesterday.

    Chinese steelmakers have relied on the overseas market to soak up excess production in the sector, prompting growing anti-dumping complaints from foreign competitors.

    The Ministry of Finance said in an announcement on its website that it would also maintain a low rate of value-added tax on coal in order to support the sector’s restructuring efforts.

    Power consumption

    CHINA consumed 456.9 kilowatt hours of power in April, up 1.9 percent compared to the same month of last year, the country’s energy regulator said yesterday.

    The National Energy Administration also said that total generation capacity rose to 1,499.6 gigawatts by the end of April, up 11.9 percent on the year. According to official data released Saturday, power output declined 1.7 percent in April on the year, driven by a 5.9 percent drop in thermal power generation.

    Urban rail project

    CHINA’S top economic planner yesterday approved a 107.2 billion yuan (US$16.41 billion) urban rail project in Qingdao, a port city in the eastern province of Shandong, a move to hasten infrastructure projects to boost economic growth.

    The rail project is the second phase of the city’s urban rail construction, the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) said on its website.

    The project, with a total construction of 181.7 kilometers of rail line, is expected to finish in 2021, it added.