Foreign investors in China's mining industry will soon have the
same access to the country's geological information as their
Chinese counterparts.
Since "detailed and reliable" geological data are essential in the
selection of mining sites, this change is expected to greatly
facilitate foreign investors' risk control, said Ye Dongsong,
vice-minister of land and resources, at a press conference
yesterday.
Foreign investors began to show interest in China's mining industry
as early as the 1980s, but limited access to even basic geological
information has been a notable obstruction to the actual flow of
foreign investment into the sector.
"Foreign investment is essential to the development of our mining
industry, and we are committed to improving our investment
environment in this area," said Ye, when announcing that the
country's revised managerial regulations on geological data will
become effective on July 1.
One revolutionary change brought about by the new regulations is
that it stipulates that all geological data be reported to and
managed by the ministry, instead of being controlled by a number of
different organs, as it once was.
The ministry, in turn, should allow public access to the data,
excluding data concerning the safety of the country.
And the data that is released should still be classified as
non-commercial or commercial, with the former made available free
of charge, while the latter will be subject to the payment of an
appropriate fee.
This is the first time for foreign investors to be given the same
access to geological data as Chinese firms, said Shao Juenian, a
leading mineral resource official with the ministry.
"From now on, no Chinese party will be able to take advantage of a
foreign competitor by denying access to geological data or
providing incorrect information," said Shao.
Anyone who fails to submit required geological data to the
ministry, or falsifies or blocks access to geological data, will be
fined.
Also, any party guilty of any of the above offences will not be
granted related certificates, or be permitted to bid on any
national engineering projects for a specified period.
(China
Daily April 5, 2002)