Signing ceremony for an investment in South Australia

Signing ceremony for an investment in South Australia

Hongkong Electric International Limited  (HEI), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Hongkong Electric Holdings Limited (HEH), was established in 1997 as the international investment arm of HEH.

HEI’s core business covers overseas investment in power generation, transmission and distribution as well as other energy- related businesses.  The Company continues to seek opportunities in countries and in segments of the market that offer a high degree of earning predictability at acceptable levels of risk.

In Australia, HEI, together with Cheung Kong Infrastructure Holdings Limited (CKI), acquired Electricity Trust of South Australia (ETSA), which is the sole electricity distributor in the state of South Australia. The acquisition was made in January 2000 under a 200-year lease. In September the same year, HEI and CKI acquired Powercor Australia Limited (Powercor) which is the largest electricity distributor in the state of Victoria and became the largest electricity distributor in Australia. In July 2002, HEI/CKI further consolidated its leading position in the market with the acquisition of Citipower, which is the electricity utility serving Melbourne CBD and its surrounding suburbs. 

In the United Kingdom, HEI acquired the Northern Gas Networks Limited in 2005 and currently holds 41.29% of the shareholdings. In Canada, HEI is the 50% stakeholder of Stanley Power Inc., which has stakes in six Canadian generating plants.

In Thailand, HEI developed a 2 x 700 MW gas-fired power plant in Ratchaburi under the IPP programme of the State-owned Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand (EGAT). The total project cost was about US$900 million and the power plant was in commercial operation in 2008.

In July 2008, HEI acquired 50% shares in Wellington Electricity Network, a regulated electricity distribution company operating in Wellington, New Zealand.

In early April 2009, HEI acquired 45% equity interests in three power plants located in Guangdong and Jilin Province with a total equity capacity of 1,260MW. In addition, HEI is co-developing two wind farm projects at Dali and Leting. The capacity of these two wind farms are 48MW and 49.5MW respectively.

In June 2010, HEI acquired 25% equity interests in the Seabank Power Limited (Seabank), an electricity-generating company located near Bristol in the United Kingdom (UK) which owns two combined-cycle gas turbine generation units with an aggregate capacity of approximately 1,140MW. The investment in Seabank represents our first foray into the UK power generation market.

Leveraging on the strength and expertise of HEH, plus its own track record of sound and successful investments, HEI will continue to explore more business opportunities including potential investments in the renewable-energy sector.

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