Two nuclear power giants in China, the State Nuclear Power Technology Company and the China Power Investment Corporation, have announced their merger, which sent stock prices for CPIC up 13 percent Monday.
Media reports say the merger is designed to give China more clout in the international nuclear power market. A similar pattern is occurring in the country’s railroad businesses, reported financial news outlet Bloomberg.
The new company will be lead by Wang Beinghua, the chairman of State Nuclear Power. The chairman of China Power Investment, Lu Qizhou, will retire, according to a joint statement.
The new company will be called State Power Investment Corporation. Combined, it will have assets of about $112.94 billion. Utility China Power currently controls 10 percent of the country’s nuclear power market. State Nuclear, meanwhile, is a relatively young company. It was formed in 2007 to manage Westinghouse Electric Co. technology.
China is also considering a merger of China National Nuclear Power Corporation and China General Nuclear Power Group. Nominally, the two companies are rivals, but both already work together to develop the Hualong 1 reactor brand, which might be called the poster child of China's nuclear power export ambitions. It was certified in September 2014.