The Qinghai provincial government yesterday announced it will put up more than 30 large-scale natural resource projects on sale for investors and buyers in the coming months.

"Natural resource and housing sectors will drive Qinghai out of the economic crisis," Luo Yulin, the deputy governor of the province, said at a press conference to announce the Qinghai investment and trade fair, scheduled for May 5.

The projects, he said, are scattered across the province and range from oil, natural gas, non-ferrous metals to petrochemical processing and sustainable power.

"It is unprecedented in Qinghai, or for that matter in China, that so many resource projects will be showcased for buyers together," said Luo, a delegate to the upcoming second session of the 11th National People's Congress.

Pan Aihua, deputy director of Qinghai economic committee, said the province had chalked out a whole set of preferential policies for investors in the natural resource sector.

Qinghai's economy has long been less developed than the nation's average.

Although the economy of Qinghai, located in the remote west, is not driven by export-oriented trade, the province has already felt the pinch of the global meltdown, Pan said.

Foreign direct investment in the province has posted a 29-percent decrease year on year. Besides, tourism, a major source of forex income, suffered a severe blow.

The number of foreign visitors plummeted to 30,000 in 2008, a 40 percent drop from the previous year, decreasing the forex income by 36 percent.

Luo, however, maintained that the province was upbeat, and attributed his confidence to the backbone industries of Qinghai - natural resources and housing.

"While the housing market in most Chinese cities came to a standstill, housing prices in Xining, the capital of Qinghai and, other cities rose reasonably," he said.

Luo said homebuyers from outside the province are the major driving force behind the rosy picture of Qinghai's housing sector.

"Qinghai is known for its world-class plateaus, and it is an ideal resort during summer. Many people from southern China buy property here and come during the summer for vacations," he said.

"Thanks to the fiscal and monetary stimulus policies of the central government, we are confident that the demand for housing in Qinghai can be further increased."

(China Daily March 5, 2009)