Olympics won't be financial burden to Beijing
Wednesday, 4 June 2008
BEIJING, June 3 (Xinhua): Despite being billed as the costliest Games ever, the Beijing Olympics won't be a financial millstone around the neck of the Beijing municipal government in the years to come, said Standard & Poor's Ratings Services in a report released here Tuesday.
"Granted, the cost of hosting the Games is huge, and its importance to China in terms of boosting its international standing is obvious; but it appears the Chinese authorities recognize that the Olympics is not an end in itself," said Standard & Poor's credit analyst Kim Eng Tan.
Indeed, the authorities' careful planning suggests the benefits of hosting the Games will continue long after the closing ceremony, the report said.
Many of the projects would have gone ahead whether the city had won the Olympics bid or not. Beijing is a fast-growing metropolis and, until recently, its urban infrastructure also lagged significantly behind cities of comparable importance in the advanced economies.
"Granted, the cost of hosting the Games is huge, and its importance to China in terms of boosting its international standing is obvious; but it appears the Chinese authorities recognize that the Olympics is not an end in itself," said Standard & Poor's credit analyst Kim Eng Tan.
Indeed, the authorities' careful planning suggests the benefits of hosting the Games will continue long after the closing ceremony, the report said.
Many of the projects would have gone ahead whether the city had won the Olympics bid or not. Beijing is a fast-growing metropolis and, until recently, its urban infrastructure also lagged significantly behind cities of comparable importance in the advanced economies.