‘Ghost cities’ which sprawl across China’s landscape are the result of $6.8trn of wasted investment since 2009, according to new research.
The state planning agency, the National Development and Reform Commission, concluded that, in 2009 and 2013 alone, ‘ineffective investment’ came to nearly half the total invested in the Chinese economy.
As China’s growth slows to its lowest rate since 1990 many real estate and infrastructure projects are being mothballed and bad loans are beginning to overload the system.
A further $1trn is estimated to have been stolen by party officials in the past five years.
Financial Times, 6
