China to open up more sectors to private investment to spur growth

BEIJING (Reuters) - China's State Council will expand the scope of private investment in key sectors, including telecoms and transport, it said on Friday, as part of measures to support the slowing economy.

China's economy, the world's second largest, grew at its slowest pace since the global financial crisis in the September quarter and risks missing its official target for the first time in 15 years, stoking worries about global growth as well as the risk of social discontent.

Premier Li Keqiang chaired a meeting of the council, China's cabinet, which decided that China would "open the door" to more areas for social investment, particularly private capital, a statement on the government's website said.

China will "support essential telecommunications enterprises in attracting private strategic investors", the statement added.

It said it would also seek to spur investment in rail, port, river transport, airport, and water projects, and guide private capital investment in broadband Internet construction and national civil space infrastructure.

China's economy is expected to expand 7.4 percent this year, narrowly missing the government's 7.5 percent annual target, as Beijing tries to derive more future growth from consumer demand rather than exports.

China will open up more state-dominated sectors to private investors to help boost the economy, the State Council said.

Smashing unreasonable monopolies and market barriers, and building a fair investment environment "will be beneficial to stimulating vital market forces and latent development potential", it said. The statement did not mention foreign investment.

(Reporting by Michael Martina; Editing by Ruth Pitchford)