Beijing International Power Development & Investment Corporation (BIPDIC) and Beijing Comprehensive Investment Company (BCIC), two State-owned investment enterprises, merged into Beijing Energy Investment Holding Co Ltd yesterday in Beijing.

Responding to the government's policy of pushing the State-owned assets management system reform, the move pulls in the combined strengths of BIPDIC's business focus in power project investment and BCIC's advanced investment competence in high-tech, financing and banking, environmental protection, real estate and infrastructure, and will fuel a jet drive to modern corporate system construction, said Xiong Daxin, director of Beijing State Asset Supervision and Administration Commission.

With a registered capital of 8.8 billion yuan (US$1.1 billion), the new investment company serves as an investment and financing platform for the capital's project constructions in power, high-tech, real estate and securities, said company sources.

The company also deals in technology research and development in energy saving projects and renewable energy products, and has established an energy strategy research center for the city's strategic planning of energy development, said Shang Heshun, vice-chairman of the Beijing Energy Investment Co Ltd.

The company's aggregate capital will top 26 billion yuan (US$3.1 billion) by year end, and is expected to exceed 30 billion yuan (US$3.6 billion) in three years, becoming a magnate of Beijing's energy industry, said Bai Jinrong, deputy director of Beijing State Asset Supervision and Administration Commission.

The energy investment company will provide terrestrial heat facilities for the Olympic Village during the 2008 Beijing Olympics, but the investment budget is still unknown, Shang told China Daily in an interview after the press conference.

(China Daily December 27, 2004)