CHINA’S top economic planner yesterday unveiled detailed measures to encourage private investment further as the country moves to revive the private economy.

The country is seeking private investment in thousands of projects worth a total of 3.2 trillion yuan (US$445 billion) in the government’s latest efforts to revive the economy.

The National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) has compiled a list of more than 2,900 projects from local governments that private investors can participate in, Luo Guosan, head of the NDRC’s investment department, said at a press conference. The NDRC also promised to improve funding support for the projects.

Among the key sectors it’s targeting for private investment are transportation, water conservation, clean energy, new infrastructures, advanced manufacturing and modern agricultural facilities. The NDRC will soon launch a platform where investors can access information about the recommend projects, Luo said.

The NDRC’s bid follows a joint statement last week by the Party and the government pledging to improve the environment for private businesses.

The government will strive to maintain the share of private investment in overall fixed-asset investment at a reasonable level, the NDRC said in a statement yesterday.

The NDRC said it’s plan is intended to “further deepen, flesh out and specify the measures to continuously strengthen the willingness and ability of private firms to invest.”

Luo said that the NDRC has set up a trial program for investment-loan cooperation with seven banks including China Development Bank and Industrial and Commercial Bank of China. The agency is preparing a list of private investment projects to guide banks to increase loan support, he added.

Qualified private investment projects will be supported to issue infrastructure real estate investment trust products to expand the financing channels of private companies, lower their debt-to-asset ratio and improve their ability to reinvest, according to the agency’s statement.

The NDRC has discussed 71 infrastructure REITs projects this year with the securities regulator, the Shanghai and Shenzhen stock exchanges and industry experts, including 19 from the private sector, involving shopping malls, solar and wind power, and big data centers, Han Zhifeng, another official of the agency, said at the same press conference yesterday.

Private firms will also be encouraged to buy State-owned enterprises’ assets and use infrastructure REITs as a way to exit the investment, Han added.

The private sector produces more than 60% of China’s gross domestic product and accounts for more than 80% of urban jobs. However, the sector’s investment made up just 53% of overall fixed assets investment as of the end of June, down from a peak of 65% in May 2015, according to calculations of official data. (SD-Agencies)