China's listed private firms bet big on Belt and Road

The newly built "Silk Road Golden Bridge" in Beijing Olympic Park gets its lights tested on April 18, 2017, in preparation for the upcoming Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation that will be held from May 14 to 15. [Photo/VCG]

As China's State-owned enterprises actively seek opportunities from the Belt and Road Initiative, private companies are also accelerating their "going out" strategy, especially some listed companies with abundant funds.

Between 2014 and 2016, 953 companies listed on Shanghai and Shenzhen bourses mentioned the Belt and Road Initiative in their annual reports, according to statistics from Shanghai Securities News.

Among them, the number of private companies reached 416, accounting for 43.65 percent.

These private companies' overseas business-interests related to architecture, energy, automobile, communication, environmental protection, agriculture, steel, transportation, electrical equipment, machinery, information technology and nonferrous metals.

Chinese electronics giant TCL Corporation gradually promoted its Belt and Road Initiative plan by building factories in Vietnam, Poland, Mexico, Egypt, and Brazil. The company is also constructing a manufacturing base in Pakistan and cooperating closely with India's Reliance Jio, the telecom unit of Reliance Industries.

Of the 416 private listed companies to mention the Belt and Road Initiative, 86 have made preliminary achievements, Shanghai Securities News reported.

Chinese leading bus maker Zhengzhou Yutong Bus Co Ltd has seen its exports for the first quarter rise by 56 percent, thanks to opportunities delivered by the Belt and Road Initiative.

Yutong's products have been sold to more than 40 countries along the Belt and Road. Since 2010, Yutong has delivered 7,121 passenger buses to to overseas markets, including Russia, Pakistan, Belarus and Georgia. Last year, 11.49 percent of its 36 billion yuan in revenue came from overseas markets.

Yutong Chairman Tang Yuxiang said that with the support of the government, the company has built factories along the Belt and Road. The company has been able to assemble its products locally, and achieved capacity and technical cooperation in Pakistan, Iran, Myanmar, Cuba, Venezuela, and Ethiopia.

Private listed companies said they are very confident about the future development, and pledge more investment in the Belt and Road Initiative, according to the newspaper.

The Belt and Road Initiative brings enormous business opportunities, however, it is also a localization capacity test for enterprises developing emerging markets, TCL chairman Li Dongsheng said.

In the future, TCL plans to speed up the localization process, shorten the time cost to adapt to local markets, Li added. Over the next two to three years, the proportion of TCL's overseas revenue is expected to rise to 50 percent.