The nation's biggest power producer China Huaneng Group (CHNG) yesterday became the largest shareholder of Inner Mongolia-based North United Power Co Ltd (NUPC), increasing its shareholding from 20 per cent to 51 per cent.

The other three shareholders are Inner Mongolia Power Investment Corp (IMPIC), Shenhua Group Corp and Hong Kong-based CITIC Pacific, company sources said.

Under the agreement reached by the four companies, IMPIC's shares in NUPC have now fallen to 9 per cent from the previous controlling 40 per cent, while Shenhua and CITIC Pacific's holdings remain unchanged at 20 per cent each, senior official Guo Xinhua from Huaneng said yesterday.

The move, according to Huaneng, will boost the power giant's business presence in the northern coal-rich region of China and increase its aggregate installed capacity to 40.98 gigawatts across the country - the first power producer with a capacity of more than 40 gigawatts in China.

"The restructuring in NUPC's shares not only gains us an advantaged stance in tapping the enormous market in the northern area that has a soaring power demand, but more importantly, marks a significant step towards our long-term goal of becoming a globally competitive energy conglomerate that focuses on the domestic power business," Huaneng said.

Having an installed capacity of as much as 6.589 gigawatts with plants spanning the autonomous region, the joint venture supplies some 60 per cent of power consumed by Inner Mongolia, company sources said.

Its generation capacity under construction will reach up to 10.868 gigawatts on completion. Operations are scheduled to begin in the near future.

As well as power generation, NUPC has also invested heavily in a number of large coal mines and rail projects, said the Huaneng statement.

"We see considerable growth opportunities for Huaneng from NUPC's unique advantages in natural resources and geographic position," it said.

Industry analysts said controlling NUPC will win Huaneng easier access to coal resources which fuel some 96 per cent of the power company's plants across China.

The move will also gain Huaneng a stronger footing in the regional market in the power-hungry North China, because electricity generated in the northern autonomous region also feeds market demand in Beijing, Hebei and Tianjin in line with the country's West-East Power Transmission Project, to make the most of the country's energy resources, said Guo.

Huaneng has vowed to intensify investment in developing electricity and coal resources by enhancing NUPC's management and business operations.

It will soon start a host of coal mine and power plant construction projects in Inner Mongolia, Huaneng said, without specifying the name or locations of these infrastructure projects.

The power group is aiming for an 8 per cent increase in profits and expects its revenue to top 60 billion yuan (US$7.2 billion) this year, up 15 per cent year-on-year.

NUPC was set up in January 2004 with a registered capital of 10 billion yuan (US$1.2 billion).

(China Daily June 23, 2005)