Expected to expand overseas markets for electric equipment With the arrival of a 25% stake in Portugal's National Energy Network, the State Grid Corporation of China (the “State Grid”) has finally succeeded in falling into Europe.

A few days ago, the Portuguese government formally announced that the national grid won the bid for the privatization of the country's national energy network company. In this acquisition, State Grid has invested approximately 387 million euros in the acquisition of a 25% stake in Portugal National Energy Network. According to experts, the successful entry of the State Grid into the European market is of great significance, or it will effectively expand the overseas markets of China's mechanical and electrical products and electrical equipment.

In this acquisition, the Portuguese government sold a total of 40% of the shares and the total value of the transaction was 592 million euros. Among them, State Grid acquired 25% of the shares and Oman National Petroleum, the company's rival, won the remaining 15%.

In an interview with relevant persons of the State Grid Corporation, after the acquisition, State Grid will send senior management personnel to participate in the operation and management of the Portuguese National Energy Network Company.

According to the above-mentioned sources, this is the first time that Chinese enterprises have successfully acquired state-level power grid companies in Europe. Portugal’s National Energy Network’s transmission and natural gas business has a monopoly on Portuguese territory. This company is the only national energy transmission company in Portugal with 150 thousand. It has 8049 kilometers of transmission lines and above, 30.025 million kVA of transformer capacity, 1,296 kilometers of natural gas high-pressure pipelines, 45 years of franchise rights for the country's transmission grid and 34 years of concession rights for high-pressure natural gas transmission networks.

This is the second large-scale purchase of Portuguese assets by Chinese energy companies in six weeks. On December 22, 2011, China Three Gorges Corporation successfully acquired 21% of Portugal’s main power group, Portugal Power, with a total of €8 billion in acquisitions.

Only from State Grid’s own overseas acquisitions, the company had successfully bid for the Philippines national transmission grid concession right in 2008; in 2010, it successfully acquired Brazil’s part of the transmission grid concession project. At the same time, the above national grid sources told this newspaper that the two acquisitions have now achieved a certain level of profitability, but the specific figures are not yet easy to disclose.

According to reports, in accordance with the performance assessment indicators for power grid operation set up by the Philippine Commission, after 2009, when the national grid entered the main, compared with the same period in 2008, the accident tripping rate of the three major regions of the national power grid dropped by a maximum of 67%. In the can supervisory committee reward standards.

As for the timing of this acquisition, the source stated that currently Europe is deeply immersed in the sovereign debt crisis, and the purchase premium is also reasonable, and it is expected to obtain better economic benefits.

The successful bidding will not only benefit the national grid itself, it will also drive the development of related industries in the upstream and downstream.

An expert from the China Chamber of Commerce and Industry told the newspaper that the successful entry of the State Grid into the European market is of great significance. Like previous overseas acquisitions, it will effectively bring about the export of China's mechanical and electrical product export and engineering contracting services. This successful entry into the European market is more conducive to the opening of the market for Chinese mechanical and electrical products in the region.

A person from domestic power transmission and distribution manufacturing leading enterprises in China Xidian also said to this newspaper that electricity is a basic industry, involving many industries such as power planning, equipment manufacturing, machinery manufacturing, materials processing, construction and construction, etc. The entry may lead to the project's purchase of domestic corporate products. "At least it now has a 25% stake in the equipment procurement has the right to vote." The source said.

The above-mentioned sources told this newspaper that China's transmission and distribution equipment products currently have a very small share in the European market, and the entry of the national grid into Europe will help expand the market. However, despite the fact that European demand for high-end equipment such as UHV and smart grids is not as good as that of China, relevant companies will still focus on the domestic market.

An expert from the China Energy Research Institute pointed out to the newspaper that due to the integration of many companies, the China National Electric Power Equipment Corporation, a power equipment manufacturer directly under the State Grid, has grown and it has acquired several domestic electric equipment subdivisions. Leading company. As a result, the company will have the largest share of the overseas expansion of the State Grid.