A myth about Chinese state firms is that their closeness to Beijing means they have little incentive to stray beyond the Middle Kingdom. That’s far from the case. Britain’s utilities hold special allure for Chinese overseas expansion, as demonstrated first by the Hinkley Point nuclear deal, and now the interest in National Grid’s asset sales.Despite the Brexit vote that hammered the pound and investment returns, National Grid is finding no shortage of foreign bidders in the sale of its gas-distribution networks. In the fray along with Macquarie, Allianz and the Hong Kong tycoon Li Ka-shing are the acquisitive Shanghai conglomerate Fosun and, interestingly, China Resources Gas, a state company that to date has been mainly domestic.
Bloomberg 17th Oct 2016 read more »