China's third-largest nuclear power investment operator plans to go public through a backdoor listing, and the nuclear power giant will meet in A-shares

At a time when nuclear power approvals are normalized and the prosperity of the whole industry is rising, the State Power Investment Corporation (hereinafter referred to as) plans to list its nuclear power assets on a backdoor basis. In the past decade, the listing plan of its nuclear power assets has been delayed several times, and finally the ice has finally been broken. If all goes well, the three giants of the domestic nuclear power industry will soon meet in the A-share market.

Power Production and Finance(000958. SZ) announced on September 30 that it received the "Notice on Planning Major Asset Restructuring" from the controlling shareholder and actual controller of the State Power Investment Group, and intends to purchase the controlling equity of the State Power Investment Nuclear Energy Co., Ltd. by issuing shares, and at the same time purchase the controlling equity of the State Power Investment Group Capital Holding Co., Ltd., and will raise matching funds according to the specific situation.

According to the power industry and finance, the main counterparty of the issuance of shares to purchase assets is expected to be the State Nuclear Power Technology Co., Ltd. The transaction is expected to constitute a major asset restructuring and related party transaction, and will not constitute a change in the actual controller, and the relevant plan is subject to further discussion and determination. The company's shares have been suspended since September 30, and it is expected that the trading plan will be disclosed within no more than 10 trading days (before October 21).

The main business of power production and financing includes two sectors: energy and finance. The energy sector covers cogeneration, new energy and other businesses, and carries out investment, operation and management of power stations, while the financial sector mainly includes trust, insurance brokerage, futures and other businesses. According to the interim report, as of the end of June this year, the company's total assets were 46.144 billion yuan.

As the nuclear energy investment and operation management platform of, Nuclear Energy Co., Ltd. is mainly responsible for the investment, production and operation, nuclear safety, nuclear emergency response and other business management of's nuclear power plants at home and abroad. As of June 2024, the company's total assets exceeded 100 billion yuan. According to the surging news, the nuclear power projects of Nuclear Energy Co., Ltd. involve Sanmen Nuclear Power, Hongyanhe Nuclear Power, Haiyang Nuclear Power, Laiyang Nuclear Power and other projects.

Haiyang Nuclear Power Phase I Project

Long-delayed listing of nuclear power assets

was established in May 2015 through the restructuring of China Power Investment Corporation and State Nuclear Power Technology Co., Ltd. For a long time, only the three major nuclear enterprises in China have nuclear power licenses, that is, the development qualifications of nuclear power project owners, China National Nuclear Power Corporation, China General Nuclear Power Group and State Power Investment Group. This pattern was not broken until September 2020, when the approval of the second phase of the Changjiang Nuclear Power Project in Hainan Province marked the official becoming the fourth nuclear power group with the qualification to hold and build large-scale pressurized water reactor projects, and the expansion of the "Nuclear Power Owners Club" to four. From the perspective of its installed nuclear power capacity in operation and under construction,'s nuclear power assets rank second to China National Nuclear Power Corporation and China General Nuclear Power Corporation.

The nuclear duopoly of China National Nuclear Power Corporation and China General Nuclear Power Corporation have already packaged nuclear power assets into the capital market. In December 2014, CGN Power (01816. HK) is listed on the Main Board of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. In June of the following year, China Nuclear Power Co., Ltd. (China Nuclear Power, 601985.SH) controlled by China National Nuclear Corporation (CNNC) was listed, becoming the first pure nuclear power listed company in the A-share market. In August 2019, China General Nuclear Power Corporation (003816. SZ) was listed on the SME Board of the Shenzhen Stock Exchange.

As early as the beginning of the restructuring of, the listing of nuclear power assets has been brewing. In December 2015, The Paper exclusively reported that Wang Binghua, then chairman of, revealed at an internal meeting that in 2016, the nuclear power asset sector, that is, the overall listing of the State Nuclear Power Technology Corporation, would be launched, seeking a backdoor listing in Hong Kong. At the end of 2015, China Power New Energy (00735. HK) announced that it has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with on the issuance of national nuclear power assets.

But the follow-up did not go well. This is directly related to the cold of domestic nuclear power construction at that time: after the approval of eight new nuclear power units in 2015, China did not approve new nuclear power projects in 2016, and the only project to start construction in 2017 was the China Demonstration Fast Reactor Project, which was relatively special in nature. In 2018, there was once again "zero approval" for new nuclear power projects in China. In 2019, three nuclear power projects, including Rongcheng in Shandong Province, were approved, and since then, nuclear power approvals have once again entered a quiet period of more than a year.

In the past three years, the pace of domestic nuclear power approval has returned to the right track. In both 2022 and 2023, 10 new nuclear power units were approved during the year. So far, 11 new units have been approved in 2024. The nuclear power industry has entered a new round of rapid development, which has greatly boosted's re-launch into the capital market. The Paper noted that in addition to nuclear power,'s intention to integrate the assets of listed companies is very obvious: Yuanda Environmental Protection (600292.SH) will become its domestic hydropower asset integration platform, and wind and solar new energy assets will remain in China Power (02380. HK), which is moving forward with the overall return to A plan.

The peak period for the construction of nuclear power projects is approaching

The long construction period of nuclear power and the huge amount of capital required are the fundamental motivation for nuclear power giants to actively connect with the capital market.

Normally, it takes 10 or even 15 years for a nuclear power project to be fully completed and put into operation, with a huge upfront investment, of which 20% is shareholders' capital and 80% relies on debt financing. Listing is the best way to solve the funding gap of nuclear power enterprises, especially in the accelerated development stage of nuclear power, listing will significantly increase the liquidity and adequacy of nuclear power enterprises.

Since 2022, a number of CAP series third-generation nuclear power units under have been approved to start construction, and the next few years will usher in a peak period of construction.

Among them, the site of Shandong Haiyang Nuclear Power Project plans to build 6 million-kilowatt nuclear power units and 1 integrated small reactor, and reserves room for the expansion of two nuclear power units. Units 1 and 2 of the first phase of the project are the third-generation nuclear power independence projects in mainland China, which were fully put into operation in 2019. Units 3 and 4 of the second phase of the project started in July 2022 and are scheduled to be fully operational in 2027. Units 5 and 6 of the Phase III Project and the Integrated Small Reactor Demonstration Project obtained the preliminary work permit in September 2022.

The site of's Lianjiang Nuclear Power Project in Zhanjiang, Guangdong Province, plans to build 6 million-kilowatt nuclear power units, with a total investment of about 130 billion yuan. The construction of the two CAP1000 units in the first phase of the project will start in September 2023 and April 2024 respectively, and it is planned to be completed and put into operation in 2028.

The State Power Investment Bailong Nuclear Power Project in Fangchenggang, Guangxi, also plans to build six million-kilowatt nuclear power units, with a total investment of about 120 billion yuan. In September this year, the construction of the first phase of the project was fully launched, and it is expected to be completed and put into operation in 2030.

Not only that, also owns a number of pre-plant sites for nuclear power projects. For example, the site of its Laiyang nuclear power project in Shandong Province plans to build 6 "Guohe No. 1" nuclear power units, which are planned and implemented in phases, and the first phase of the project will build 2 "Guohe No. 1" nuclear power units and their supporting facilities. The construction of the project is in line with the relevant plans of the state and Shandong Province for energy development, and various preliminary work is being promoted.