Losses suffered by China Railway Construction Corp on a new Saudi Arabian railway are temporary, President Zhao Guangfa said on Saturday.
Zhao’s comments come nearly two weeks after the Beijing based company said it expected to lose about $623.3 million on the A1 Mashaaer Al Mugadassah metro light rail for Muslim pilgrims, exceeding the company’s estimate.
On the sidelines of a forum in Beijing: “Ultimately we will see no big losses on this project.”
“The losses so far are temporary … not every project will make money at the very beginning,” he said, adding that the project owner has agreed to talk with China Railway about possible payments and compensation.
Zhao said the Saudi project would not change the company’s plan or strategies in venturing abroad.
Shares in China Railway closed up 0.7 percent on Friday in Shanghai trade.
The firm’s shares have dropped 5 percent since the announcement on October 25, underperforming a 3 percent gain for the Shanghai stock market in the same period.(Reuters)
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