China Railway Corporation liabilities up in Q1

BEIJING -- The China Railway Corporation, a new national railway operator that has taken over the business operations of the defunct Ministry of Railways (MOR), posted losses in the first quarter, with its debt-to-asset ratio up slightly to 62.31 percent, according to a recently issued financial report.

By the end of March, the company's total liabilities stood at 2.84 trillion yuan ($457 billion) from 2.79 trillion yuan at the end of 2012, according to an audit report posted on ChinaMoney, an official website for China's money market.

The corporation's total assets stood at 4.56 trillion yuan by the end of the first quarter, marking a debt-to-asset ratio of 62.31 percent, according to the report.

The ratio was slightly up from 62.23 percent at the end of last year and higher than 60.63 percent at the end of 2011.

During the first three months, the state-owned giant posted negative profits after tax of 6.88 billion yuan while taking out local and foreign loans valued at 100.9 billion yuan, according to the report.

The report did not cite a reason for the corporation's net losses.

In March 2013, the central government adopted a cabinet reshuffling plan that included the dismantling of the former MOR into administrative and business arms to reduce bureaucracy and improve efficiency.

With registered capital of 1.04 trillion yuan, the China Railway Corporation took over all of the MOR's related assets and liabilities and went into business on March 17.

The company is expected to address the MOR's high remaining debt and improve the country's massive railway network.

According to a government plan, China will invest 520 billion yuan in railway infrastructure this year, with 5,200 km of new railways scheduled to go into operation.

The China Railway Corporation said in April that investment in railway infrastructure increased 28 percent year on year to 54.51 billion yuan during the January-March period.