CGN lists non-nuclear power assets on bourse

China General Nuclear Power Group's booth at a recent exhibition in Fuzhou, capital city of Fujian province.[Provided to China Daily]

China General Nuclear Power Co, a nuclear power giant, has listed its non-nuclear power assets on the A-share market by acquiring a controlling stake in a listed company.

Shares of the listed-company, China Dalian International Economic & Technical Cooperation Group Co, climbed by the 10 percent daily limit to 15.9 yuan ($2.46) on Wednesday, the first day after the resumption of trading.

China Dalian International has sold 4.25 billion yuan worth of its shares to CGN (Beijing) Nuclear Technology Application Co, a CGN unit that focuses on non-nuclear power assets such as nuclear instrumentation, isotopes and radioactive sources, irradiation processing and nuclear materials, according to a regulatory filing.

It also said that CGN will raise 2.8 billion yuan through private placement after the resumption of trading.

CGN already has three listed-companies, all of which made their debut in Hong Kong, including CGN Power Co Ltd, CGN New Energy Holdings Co Ltd and CGN Mining Co Ltd.

Last year, CGN Power issued 8.83 billion shares at HK$2.78 (36 cents), the top end of its price range, making it the biggest initial public offering in the past two years in Hong Kong. It is not only the first Chinese nuclear company to go public, but also the first listed pure nuclear power asset in the world.

Experts said that though this time the assets that CGN listed is not related to nuclear power reactors, the listing on the A-share market will help the company achieve steady cash flows.

"I think the non-nuclear power related-business can generate better returns for the company, as China is planning to develop non-nuclear power technologies such as nuclear materials and medicine," said Lu Jinyong, an expert at the University of International Business and Economics in Beijing.

He said it is necessary for CGN to go public on the A-share market as it does not want to be constrained for funds while building nuclear power stations.

The listing comes at a time when China, the world's largest energy consumer, has embarked on a huge nuclear program at home and plans to leverage its domestic experience to export its third-generation nuclear technology as well as its equipment manufacturing which could translate into several billions of dollars for each reactor.

Hu Wenquan, assistant president of CGN, said that the company's Fangchenggang nuclear power plant in the Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region will start construction later this year, using Hualong One reactor, a domestically developed third-generation nuclear technology.

As of October, the parent company owned 14 reactors with a combined installed capacity of 14,920 megawatts, and has 12 reactors under construction.