'Stronger, better, larger': China Three Gorges renewables arm soars after record listing to fund offshore wind

CTG New Energy to use proceeds of 'largest IPO in power sector' to help massive build-out of wind at sea

SHANGHAI, CHINA - FEBRUARY 26: Shanghai Stock Exchange on February 26, 2018 in Shanghai, China. China's most populous city is also one of the world's largest megacities. (Photo by Vincent Isore/IP3/Getty Images) . Shanghai stock exchange.
SHANGHAI, CHINA - FEBRUARY 26: Shanghai Stock Exchange on February 26, 2018 in Shanghai, China. China's most populous city is also one of the world's largest megacities. (Photo by Vincent Isore/IP3/Getty Images) . Shanghai stock exchange.Foto: Vincent Isore/IP3/Getty Images

The renewable energy arm of China Three Gorges soared on its first day of trading after what the company claimed as the largest initial public offering (IPO) ever seen in the Chinese power industry.

China Three Gorges New Energy rose 44% on Thursday, the most allowed under Shanghai Stock Exchange rules, reflecting what analysts said was huge interest in green energy investments in China.

The first-day spike took CTG New Energy’s market value past 100bn yuan ($15.6bn) after the company in May raised 22.7bn yuan in China’s largest IPO of the year, which was 78-times oversubscribed.

The state-owned group said in a statement that CTG would after the listing make its renewables arm “stronger, better, and larger”, and “make more contributions in the construction of a new power system with new energy as the mainstay”.

Most of the proceeds raised will be used to fund expansion in offshore wind, where CTG New Energy has emerged as a frontrunner in China’s fast-expanding market with a 7GW-plus pipeline.

The group installed China’s first 10MW turbine last year, and as recently as this week the foundation for the nation’s first floating wind deployment began its journey ready for installation at a CTG project off Guangdong province.

China is on a trajectory to become the world’s largest offshore wind market as soon as this year amid a dash to install turbines and beat a government deadline for expiry of subsidies at the end of 2021.

The nation was the biggest annual market for wind at sea last year with 3GW installed and ended 2020 with 10GW in place, only just shy of global leader the UK, according to data from the Global Wind Energy Council.

CTG New Energy is also expected to benefit from the wider vast renewables ambitions of the Chinese government to install 1,200GW of wind and solar by 2030 as a key step towards the 2060 net zero goal announced by President Xi Jinping last year.
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Published 10 June 2021, 11:20Updated 10 June 2021, 11:22
China Three GorgesChinaPolicyAsia-PacificOffshore