China formed a railway container joint venture with companies including France's CMA CGM, German rail operator Deutsche Bahn AG and Israel's Zim Logistics, marking the opening up of a traditionally monopolised industry.
Participants in the joint venture said it was the first large-scale foreign investment into China's railway industry, which is tightly controlled by the government and often criticised for bad service and insufficient capacity.
The joint venture, China United International Rail Containers Co, will get a total investment of 12 bln yuan.
CMA CGM, Deutsche Bahn and Zim will each hold an 8 pct stake in the venture, while China Railway Container Transport Corp, a state-owned company under the Ministry of Railways, will take 34 pct and become the biggest shareholder.
The new company will design, build and operate a network of 18 rail terminals in transport hubs such as Shanghai, Kunming in the southwest, and Urumqi in the northwest, which will begin operating in 2010.
According to official plans, China will extend its railway operating mileage to 100,000 kilometres by 2020 from currently about 80,000 kilometres to meet the growing demand of its brisk economic expansion.
Participants in the joint venture said it was the first large-scale foreign investment into China's railway industry, which is tightly controlled by the government and often criticised for bad service and insufficient capacity.
The joint venture, China United International Rail Containers Co, will get a total investment of 12 bln yuan.
CMA CGM, Deutsche Bahn and Zim will each hold an 8 pct stake in the venture, while China Railway Container Transport Corp, a state-owned company under the Ministry of Railways, will take 34 pct and become the biggest shareholder.
The new company will design, build and operate a network of 18 rail terminals in transport hubs such as Shanghai, Kunming in the southwest, and Urumqi in the northwest, which will begin operating in 2010.
According to official plans, China will extend its railway operating mileage to 100,000 kilometres by 2020 from currently about 80,000 kilometres to meet the growing demand of its brisk economic expansion.