SHANGHAI (Reuters) - China is seeking opinions for a draft law to govern public-private partnerships (PPP), as it seeks to shore up private investment in infrastructure projects to alleviate local authorities' debt burden, state media reported on Friday.
A two-year-long effort to guide private capital into projects such as metro systems and hospitals via the PPP model has generated only tepid interest, causing concern at a time when private-sector investment is faltering across the country.
A draft of the proposed law has been handed to China's cabinet as well as local authorities, the Securities Daily quoted representatives from the National Development and Reform Commission and Ministry of Finance as saying.
Imperfect and inadequate legislation are currently the biggest barriers to the implementation of PPP projects, and it is also difficult to enact laws because there is no unified understanding of the problems involved, the Ministry of Finance's deputy head of law, Lai Yongtian said.
A taskforce set up to examine the PPP funding model is looking into issues such as PPP project risks, private capital withdrawing and taxation, the Ministry of Finance said.