China's State Grid woos social capital in UHV programs

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State Grid Corporation of China, the largest electricity utility company in the world, said it would for the first time solicit social capital in ultra-high-voltage (UHV) power transmission projects.

"State Grid will proactively engage insurance companies, large-scale industrial funds and state-owned investment platforms in regions covered by UHV programs to take part in the programs," said Yang Xinfa, director of the company's reform office.

Yang said State Grid and its business partners will invest in and operate new UHV direct current projects by establishing joint ventures to promote the development of power grids and share the fruits of reform.

The move, among a number of other measures, plays an important part in accelerating the company's mixed-ownership reform. Such reforms were expected to further unleash business potential.

Apart from introducing social capital to the UHV program, the company will also look to deepen mixed-ownership reform in a wide range of its business sectors, including electricity distribution and trading, energy services, equipment manufacturing and electric vehicles.

Since 2016, around 50 SOEs involved in three rounds of pilot mixed-ownership reform projects have implemented reform programs as scheduled, covering industries such as energy, railways, telecommunications and civil aviation.

Source(s): Xinhua News Agency