A consortium including Hong Kong and Japanese companies is to invest in two power projects in the inland province of Guizhou. Japan's Tomen Corp and a subsidiary of a Hong Kong-listed steel trader have signed letters of intent with Guizhou Provincial Power Investment to participate in the construction of the Jinsha power plant and extension of the Anshun power plant, mainland officials said. The Hong Kong partner declined to be named as the Hong Kong stock exchange had not been informed of the project. The investment for the 500,000 megawatt Jinsha power plant will be 1.42 billion yuan (about HK$1.32 billion), while work on the third phase of Anshun power plant will cost 3.45 billion yuan. Provincial officials said details of share of investment between the three parties had still to be hammered out. The power projects were the first foreign investment agreement to be signed during the province's foreign trade and investment symposium, which opened in Hong Kong yesterday. Deputy governor Lou Jiwei said the central government had committed more financial support to the province, especially on improving the transport infrastructure, as part of the policy of narrowing the gap between poorer inland regions and richer coastal areas.
