China nuclear power firms merge to fuel global clout
Beijing moves to consolidate nuclear sector, with eye on export of reactors
China Power Investment Corporation and State Nuclear Power Technology Corp have officially announced their merger, as Beijing moves to consolidate its nuclear power sector, aiming eventually to export reactors.
China Power currently controls about a tenth of China's nuclear power market, while State Nuclear was formed in 2007 to handle nuclear technology transferred from the US-based Westinghouse Electric.
The new company, State Power Investment Corporation, was expected to own assets of more than 700 billion yuan (HK$885 billion) and to post revenue of more than 200 billion yuan annually, state news agency Xinhua said yesterday, citing Wang Binghua, the chairman and party secretary of State Power Investment.
China National Nuclear Power (CNNC) said in a prospectus published last Monday on the Shanghai Stock Exchange that the merger to form State Power Investment Corporation would increase competition between China's three major nuclear corporations in both domestic and international construction of nuclear infrastructure.
The other major player in this sector is China General Nuclear Power (CGN).
China is contemplating a merger between CNNC and CGN which were set up as rivals to compete for projects at home and overseas but, under government prompting, have cooperated on a single reactor brand, Hualong 1, with the intention of eventually marketing it abroad.