China Power International Development Ltd., a unit of the nation��s fifth-biggest utility, might buy assets from its parent as early as mid-2005 as part of plans to triple capacity in five years, chief executive Li Xiaolin said Monday.

The company might buy two of six plants it managed for its State-owned parent once restructuring was completed in about six months, Li said. It might also exercise an option to buy 25 percent of Shanghai-listed Shanghai Electric Power Co., she said. The three assets would double the company��s capacity to 6,112 megawatts, reported Shenzhen Daily.

China Power��s shares surged for a second day Monday after debuting Friday in Hong Kong as investors bet the company would benefit from rising demand for electricity in China, the world��s second-largest energy market after the United States. The company raised HK$2.5 billion (US$320.6 million) after pricing its shares at a discount to rivals such as Huaneng Power International Inc.

��Investors are betting this company will build up its value through acquisitions in the next two years,���� said Liu Yang, who helps manage US$1.8 billion including China Power shares at Atlantis Investment Management in Hong Kong.

China Power��s parent, China Power Investment Corp., was the fourth of the nation��s five major power producers to sell shares in an international unit in Hong Kong. The five were formed by a breakup of former monopoly State Power Corp. in 2002.

The listed company, which owns 3,010 megawatts of capacity in three coal-fired plants, lured investors to its initial public offering with plans to boost profit by buying power plants and building new ones that will go into operation starting in 2007.

China Power��s immediate task was to reorganize two of its three power plants and the two it planned to buy from the parent to separate operations that were not power-related, Li said. Excess workers will be transferred to China Power��s Hong Kong holding company, China Power International Holding Ltd.

��After the share sale, much streamlining and procedural work is yet to be done,���� Li said. ��We need to first remove some legacy businesses unrelated to power generation before they are injected into the listed company.����

China Power is reorganizing the parent��s plants in Qinghe, in the eastern province of Liaoning, and Shentou, in Shanxi Province. The Qinghe restructuring may be completed by the end of this year, with the rest scheduled to be finished in about six months. By then, it would be time to ��consider���� acquisitions, Li said.

Source: Shenzhen Daily/Agencies