China needs 10 trillion yuan green investment by 2020 - China Securities Journal

SHANGHAI (Reuters) - China needs at least 2 trillion yuan ($308.84 billion) of green investment annually over the next five years, which is probably a "conservative" estimate, China's central bank chief economist Ma Jun told the China Securities Journal on Thursday. Ma's comments came the same day that the People's Bank of China held a press conference on promoting green bonds as a way to help promote environmentally friendly investment in China. The Agricultural Bank of China, the country's third-largest listed lender, became the first mainland Chinese entity to issue a green bond in October in London. China is struggling to contain the environmental consequences of its rapid industrial growth over the past three decades, and major cities including the capital Beijing remain periodically shrouded in thick smog. (Reporting By Nathaniel Taplin)