China approves $11.4b worth of rail projects

BEIJING - China has approved 53.1 billion yuan (S$11.38 billion) worth of railway projects in the northern and southwestern parts of the country, the nation's top economic planner said on Friday.

A city metro worth 43.7 billion yuan will be built in the northern Chinese city of Jinan, while a railway track that costs 9.4 billion yuan will be laid in the southwestern province of Yunnan, the National Development and Reform Commission said.

China's annual economic growth likely slowed to 7.2 per cent in the fourth quarter, the weakest since the depths of the global crisis, a Reuters poll showed, which will keep pressure on policymakers to roll out more support measures to head off a sharper slowdown this year.