China's railway sector completed 248.5 billion yuan (about 36.67 billion U.S. dollars) in fixed-asset investment in the first five months of this year, up 2.6 percent year on year, the China State Railway Group said on Friday.
Since the beginning of this year, the national railway operator has been advancing railway planning and construction in a scientific and orderly manner, with a number of key projects making new progress.
In May, static acceptance began on the Yichang-Xingshan high-speed railway in central China's Hubei Province and the Chaohu-Ma'anshan intercity railway in east China's Anhui Province. Meanwhile, the Xi'an-Shiyan high-speed railway has entered the trial operation phase, making final preparations for commercial service.
"The trial operation will last at least one month. It will be carried out in three phases, comprising parameter testing according to the timetable, fault simulation and emergency rescue drills, and scheduled train operations. These steps will lay a solid foundation for the line's smooth opening and safe operation," said Wang Hongtao, deputy director of transportation department at China Railway Xi'an Bureau Group.
By the end of May, track-laying had begun on several high-speed rail lines, including the middle line of the Chengdu-Chongqing high-speed railway, the Xiong'an-Xinzhou high-speed railway, and the Chongqing-Kunming high-speed railway. In addition, track laying was completed along the entire Nanchang-Jiujiang high-speed railway.
China's railway investment up 2.6 pct in first five months
China's railway investment up 2.6 pct in first five months
Japanese shares closed higher on Friday, with the Nikkei 225 back above 66,000 points due to the stimulation from the tech sector and expected measures from the central bank, said Timothy Pope, a market analyst for China Global Television Network (CGTN).
The 225-issue Nikkei Stock Average ended up 1,802.77 points, or 2.81 percent, from Thursday at 66,020.04.
The broader Topix index, meanwhile, finished 51.61 points, or 1.35 percent, higher at 3,881.96.
On the top-tier Prime Market, nonferrous metal, machinery, and iron and steel issues were notable gainers.
The Nikkei briefly topped the 67,000 mark for the first time in more than a week, after reports surfaced that the United States and Iran are likely to sign an agreement over the next few days, restoring hopes for an end to the Middle East conflict.
Analysts said that apart from the Middle East situation, the market gain was also spurred by the tech surge around the recent move of U.S. tech giant Space Exploration Technologies Corp (SpaceX).
SpaceX has priced its initial public offering (IPO) at 135 U.S. dollars per share and raised 75 billion dollars through the sale of about 555.56 million shares, U.S. media reported Thursday.
"The Nikkei 225 added 2.8 percent today to close back above 66,000 points, but it remains down about 0.8 percent for the week, ending a three-week winning streak for the index. The continued AI, Space, satellite hype surrounding the SpaceX IPO spurred some gains for the Japanese tech majors like Advantest which was up 8.5 percent. And on the economic front there's a Bank of Japan meeting scheduled for next week where the expectation is that the central bank will lift interest rates to a 31-year high of 1 percent, up from 0.75 percent. That drove Japanese bank stocks higher today as well," Pope said.
Japanese stock market rebounds under SpaceX stimulation: analyst
