Shenhua denies merger with nuclear giant

A steel dome is hoisted onto the No 1 reactor at Haiyang nuclear power plant in Shandong province in March. [Photo/Xinhua]

BEIJING - Chinese coal producer Shenhua Group on Thursday dismissed media reports about reorganization with another state-owned enterprise (SOE).

"Shenhua is not engaged in merging and reorganization with China General Nuclear Power Corporation and has received no related information from any government agencies," said a post on the company's Sina Weibo account.

The notice came following reports that the two SOEs are seeking a merger to create a conglomerate with total assets of $204 billion, but have yet to gain support from authorities.

Analysts believe the merger is unlikely as the two giants have completely different main business, focusing on coal production and nuclear power, respectively.

Rumors about SOE mergers are on the rise as the central government tries to encourage mergers and acquisition of torpid SOEs to improve their competitiveness.