Alliance with Mitsubishi marks utility's increased efforts to expand beyond HK Electricity supplier CLP Holdings is considering the possibility of listing separately its overseas assets after putting them into a newly formed joint venture. Speaking after the group's annual shareholder meeting yesterday, chief executive Andrew Brandler said CLP and its partner, Japan's largest trading firm Mitsubishi Corp, would inject their regional power assets into a 50-50 joint venture, OneEnergy. The new company, which has start-up capital of $5.22 billion, would invest in power projects in Southeast Asia and Taiwan. The alliance, announced last month, underscored CLP's increased efforts to expand beyond Hong Kong, where it is fiercely contesting proposed regulatory changes. 'Whether to list [OneEnergy] or not, we're open about that,' Mr Brandler said. 'At this stage, we are focusing on establishing the business and capitalising on the opportunities in Southeast Asia and Taiwan.' Thailand, Indonesia, Singapore, the Philippines, Vietnam and Taiwan were OneEnergy's preferred markets, he added. Mr Brandler vowed to deepen CLP's presence in Australia, where it produces and retails electricity through TRUenergy, its biggest asset outside Hong Kong. CLP chairman and controlling shareholder Michael Kadoorie said the decision to diversify geographically was a result of escalating uncertainties surrounding the Hong Kong market as the government reveiewed the regulatory regime. Despite the utility's opposition to the government's proposed changes to the scheme of control after the return-based regulatory regime ends in 2008, Mr Kadoorie is confident of reaching an agreement on the future governance arrangement 'because it is to the benefit of all of Hong Kong'. 'The government has been a partner to all the agreements over the past 40 years under the scheme of control. So everything has gone forward in terms of the arrangement and the blessing of the government,' he said. 'It seems difficult to believe that history should be just set aside.' While accusing the government of failing to provide a consistent energy policy, CLP has rejected proposals to lower its future return to between 7 and 11 per cent from between 13.5 and 15 per cent, shorten contract duration to 10 years from 15 years and impose emission control penalties.
