Wu Xinxiong，executive vice-governor of Jiangxi Province，

made a speech at the Jiangxi Investment Fair in Hong Kong

by Pamela Pun

9 July 2004,The Standard -The province of Jiangxi plans to use almost US$700 million (HK$5.46 billion) of foreign investment to double its electricity output to sell to power-hungry Guangdong.

The under-developed province, which does not suffer from the acute power shortages of richer neighboring provinces, will then plough the income into its own development, officials said at a Jiangxi investment fair in Hong Kong yesterday.

Companies from the United States, France, Japan and Taiwan signed joint venture agreements worth US$691 million to either buy into existing power plants to help their expansion, or to build new ones.

By 2010, Jiangxi aims to increase its electricity generating capacity to 13 million kilowatts.

It is not clear how much electricity will eventually be sold to Guangdong, but Jiangxi vice-governor Wu Xinxiong said his province was currently short of less than half million kilowatts during peak demand.

Wu exchanges business card with foreign investor

The US company AES will invest US$101.2 million to take a 60 per cent stake in the Xinyu power plant and invest another US$360 million in the plant's expansion with two additional 600,000-kilowatt generation units.

French company EDF will invest US$27.5 million to take a 25 per cent stake in the Fenyi power plant. The stake was sold to EDF by China Power Investment Corporation, vice-president Zhang Xiaolu said yesterday. After the deal, China Power Investment will still hold more than 50 per cent of Fenyi power plant.

China Power Investment also signed an agreement with Japan's Electric Power Development Company to set up a joint venture for a Xinchang power plant. The Japanese firm will invest US$150 million for 25 per cent stake.

Xinchang will have four 600,000 kilowatt generation units. Construction of two units is due to begin this year, Zhang said. The power plants will burn coal but will have desulphurisation filters to reduce pollution.

A Taiwanese power company will invest US$52.41 million in a 29 per cent stake in two 600,000-kilowatt units at Jingdezhen power plant.

In addition, agreements and contracts for roads, bridges, a railway and sewage treatment were signed at the Jiangxi fair, for a total foreign investment potential of US$2.68 billion.