Enemalta,the main provider of energy generation and distribution in Malta, is expected to have a Chinese deputy chairman as a result of Chinese investment in the corporation, according to local report.
Konrad Mizzi, Malta's Minster For Energy and the Conservation of Water, addressed the members of the Malta Council for Economic and Social Development on Monday about the planned investment and the government's plans for Enemalta.
Shanghai Power Electric, a subsidiary of China Power Investment Corporation (CPIC), is to invest 200 million euros (272 million U.S. dollars)in Enemalta and will also join the corporation in a joint venture producing photovoltaic units for the European market.
Therefore, Mizzi said that the Chinese company would have a number of seats on Enemalta's board of directors including a Deputy Chairman.
The Maltese government believes Enemalta will register a 4-million-euro profit by 2015, when CPIC, one of the five largest state-owned electricity producers in China, will become a minority shareholder in Enemalta, providing the Maltese utility company with a cash injection that will improve its financial position.
In 2012, Enemalta's total debt reached more than 830 million euros (12 percent of GDP), of which 85 percent is guaranteed by the government. As of end-2012, guarantees to Enemalta represented about 50 percent of the government's total guarantees. (1 euro= 1.36 U.S. dollars)
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