China Railway sticks to 2008 targets after quake

SHANGHAI, May 23 (Reuters) - China Railway Construction Corp Ltd (1186.HK) (601186.SS), which built the world's highest railroad, said on Friday its 2008 operating targets would not be affected by a devastating earthquake which hit 16 of its projects.

The construction and engineering projects are only a tiny proportion of its total revenue and are covered by insurance, so any losses would have little impact on the company's business this year or on its future development, it said in a statement to the exchange.

A magnitude 7.9 earthquake hit southwest China's Sichuan province last week, leaving more than 80,000 dead or missing.

China Railway Construction said the quake killed 32 employees, contractors and family members while 23 were seriously injured, with five still missing.

China Railway Construction, one of the country's two large rail infrastructure firms and builder of the Qinghai-Tibet railway, said earlier this month it aimed for 2008 operational revenue of 200.8 billion yuan ($28.93 billion) and aggregate new contracts worth 250 billion yuan.

The company and its employees have donated 18.3 million yuan to disaster-hit areas, it said. ($1=6.942 Yuan) (Reporting by Samuel Shen; Editing by Edmund Klamann)