In the October 21-25 period this year, the Chinese provinces of Zhejiang, Sichuan, Hubei, Hainan and Hunan plan to issue nine local government bonds worth RMB 67.064 billion, while in the previous week (October 15-18) local governments in China only issued bonds worth RMB 5.834 billion, signaling that infrastructure development in China will likely improve during the remainder of the year, as reported by local Chinese media sources.
On October 21, China's National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) has stated that in the third quarter this year it approved 35 fixed asset investment (FAI) projects, with a total investment of RMB 317.2 billion, mostly in the transportation and energy sectors.
The speed-up in infrastructure construction will likely boost demand for steel in China in the coming period.