China Power International Development, the Hong Kong-listed arm of the mainland's fifth-largest power company, aims to make its first overseas investment in a power project this year.
The company is in talks to invest in coal-fired power plants in Southeast Asia, possibly buying existing plants or building new ones, chief executive Li Xiaolin said.
'We'll focus on the large-scale ones, those with 600 megawatt-generation units or above,' said Ms Li, daughter of former premier Li Peng.
China Power would partner with local companies and hopefully could conclude some projects this year, she said without giving more details such as estimated investment size.
'China, Southeast Asia and India, all are the regions with rapid economic growth which will provide promising development opportunities for us.'
China Power's overseas investment could be the first among all mainland-listed power firms.