State-owned electricity producer China Power International Holdings Ltd. said yesterday it has set up a joint venture with a mainland power distributor and a Hong Kong media firm as it prepares to become the city¡¯s third power supplier.

Hong Kong has only two power suppliers, CLP Holdings Ltd. and Hongkong Electric Holdings Ltd., but the Hong Kong SAR Government is studying ways of encouraging external suppliers to enter the market to improve competition and possibly bring down tariffs.

China Power International Holdings said in a statement it has formed a joint venture with China Southern Power Grid Corp. and media firm Vertex Communications & Technology Group Ltd.

China Power International Holdings is the holding company of China Power International Development Ltd., the smallest Hong Kong-listed Chinese power producer by capacity.

China Power said the venture, China Hong Kong Power Development Co., may purchase electricity from China Southern Power and then supply Hong Kong customers. The venture may also invest in power generation facilities on the mainland.

China Power leads the venture with a 50 percent stake, China Southern Power holds 35 percent, while Vertex holds the remaining 15 percent.

China Southern Power distributes electricity to five provinces in Guangdong, Guangxi, Yunnan, Guizhou and Hainan, with total assets valued at 245.3 billion yuan (US$30.25 billion) at the end of 2004, the most recent data available on the company¡¯s Web site.

Editor: Yan