Rail ministry loses US$1.4b in H1

The Ministry of Railways has posted a first-half net loss of 8.8 billion yuan (US$1.4 billion) as it struggles with rising operating costs and mounting debts.

The loss was revealed in its half-year report posted on Chinabond, a website for bond issuers. The ministry, which acts like a corporation in the debt market, is selling bonds to expand the rail network.

The comparative data for a year earlier were not available. The ministry lost 3.76 billion yuan in the first quarter of 2011 before ending last year with an annual profit of 31 million yuan, according to official data.

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