OREANDA-NEWS. November 13, 2013. As China's urbanization pace gathers steam every year, the growing urban population puts further strain on public transportation. Given this situation, urban rail not only serves as an important public transportation for daily commuters, but also becomes the first choice for city planners.

To cater this need, ICBC has further stepped up support to urban rail transit projects. As at the end of September, 2013, ICBC has advanced over RMB 90 billion of loans to rail transport sector, up by 11% from the beginning of the year.

Besides loans to companies involved in urban rail transit projects or manufacturing of urban rail equipment, ICBC has also offered extensive services such as equipment leasing and bond underwriting for rail transit companies, said an ICBC official. ICBC is committed to help those companies improve their competitiveness by providing high-quality integrated financial services.
Urban rail transit is known as a high-capacity, speedy, safe, punctual, eco-friendly, energy and land saving system. As at the end of 2012, 36 cities in China were approved for rail transit projects, and 71 commuter lines were running in 17 cities, with a total mileage of 2023.8 kilometers.