December 02, 2008

Huaneng denies report on Australia power interest

Huaneng Power has denied a media report that it may join the bidding for power assets slated for sale by Australia's New South Wales state. An official at Huaneng Power said that "We are unaware of this news. We have never heard of anything related to the Australia assets. Our company has never said we are interested in assets in Australia."

The Sydney Morning Herald reported that Huaneng has asked its Australian team to follow the New South Wales state privatization process and send suggestions back to senior management, citing an unidentified source with knowledge of Huaneng's foreign investment plans.

New South Wales state premier, Mr Morris Iemma said that he would push ahead with plans to privatize the state's power assets even though his own ruling party had voted against the proposal.

The state government hopes to raise about AUD 15 billion to fund infrastructure projects. It has yet decide on the form a privatization might take, with options believed to include trade sales or the listing of a new entity on the Australian stock exchange.