Korea Electric Power Corp, South Korea's largest utility, agreed to jointly buy power plants and develop coal mines in China with Deutsche Bank AG and China's Shanxi International Electricity Group.
　　
The three will invest a combined 10 billion yuan (US$1.3 billion) to create a company that will buy 12 operating electricity power plants and build 12 more in northeastern China's Shanxi Province, Seoul-based Korea Electric said.The new company will also develop nine coal mines in the province, which holds one-third of China's coal reserves.

Korea Electric joins other power companies such as Japan's Electric Power Development Co in gaining a foothold in China, where the economy has expanded at an average 9.5 percent in the past five years.

To meet demand, China needs to build power plants each year capable of producing as much power as South Korea's entire generating capacity, the Seoul-based company said. Korea Electric will have a 34 percent stake in the venture, and will contribute the proportionate share of the 10 billion yuan investment, the utility said. Deutsche Bank will have a 19 percent stake and Shanxi International Electric 47 percent.

The 24 plants will produce a combined 9.3 million kilowatts of electricity when completed and the coal mines will have annual output of about 30.6 million metric tons of coal, the power producer said. This is Korea Electric's fifth project in China, including two that are completed and two under development.

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