Decision seen next month as CLP unit bids A$650m for a share of the energy market in northeast Australia
CLP Holdings' energy flagship in Australia, TRUenergy, bid for A$650 million (HK$3.7 billion) worth of state-owned electricity and gas retail assets in Queensland last month and expects an outcome in a few weeks, according to analysts who met the unit's management.
TRUenergy, which is seeking a piece of the deregulating energy market in the northeastern Australian state, will be competing with local companies Australian Gas Light and Origin Energy, with the bid deadline scheduled for the middle of this month.
Completion of the sales is expected this year.
The assets being sold are Sun Retail, which has about 800,000 retail electricity customers and 53,000 gas customers and may fetch A$600 million, according to analysts, and Sun Gas with 40,000 retail gas customers, which may go for as much as A$50 million.
A CLP spokeswoman declined to comment.