China's largest nuclear power firm renamed

SHENZHEN - China's largest nuclear power company announced on Wednesday that it is to change its name to China General Nuclear Power Group (CGN) to consolidate its image as a state-owned enterprise.

The previous name of China Guangdong Nuclear Power Group had frequently led to its being wrongly believed to be a provincial-level firm from South China's Guangdong province.

With total assets of 268.9 billion yuan ($43.7 billion) reported in the first quarter, the company had an installed nuclear power generating capacity of 7.2 million kilowatts, accounting for 53 percent of the country's total.

Hu Guangyao, spokesman for the Shenzhen-based CGN, said at the name-changing press conference, that the company still takes Guangdong as its base camp, while reaching out to the global market.

China's State Council announced the establishment of China Guangdong Nuclear Power Group in 1994, when its first nuclear power unit in Dayawan Nuclear Power Plant in Guangdong went into production.

Boasting an uranium reserve of 338,000 tonnes, the company has developed overseas business in Namibia and Kazakstan, and is bidding for a nuclear power project in Turkey.