State Grid gets Australian permit for investment

Pedestrians walk past a branch of State Grid in Shanghai, China, Oct28, 2013. [Photo/icpress.cn]

State Grid Corp of China (SGCC), the world's largest utility company, got the green light from the Australian government to purchase stakes of A$5 billion ($4.4 billion) in the country's power companies.

Under the deal, the SGCC will purchase a 60-percent stake in SPI (Australia) Assets Pty Limited (SPIAA), a wholly owned subsidiary of Singapore Power, as well as a 19 percent stake in its sister company SP AusNet.

State Grid has been building its presence in Australia's energy sector with a purchase of a 41 percent stake in South Australian electricity supplier ElectraNet from the Queensland state government's Powerlink last year.

Experts said the stake acquisition will help the State-owned company boost its global influence and competitiveness. In addition to Australia, it has expanded into the Philippines, Brazil and Portugal.

Liu Zhenya, president of State Grid, said the company aims to quadruple its overseas assets by 2020, bringing their value as high as $50 billion.

He said the net returns on overseas projects tend to be in double-digit percentages and the rate of return on them is about five times higher than on the company's domestic investments, according to earlier reports.