China Gas Holdings, one of the mainland's three major piped gas distributors in urban areas, plans to extend its presence to 80 cities in three to five years as the use of natural gas gains popularity, a senior executive said.

 

"We currently operate 51 projects in provinces such as Jiangsu, Hubei, Guangdong, Guangxi and Anhui," China Gas Managing Director Liu Minghui told China Daily.

 

"We hope to add 8 to 10 projects to our portfolio by the end of the current financial year. Many of them will be located in Northwest China.

 

"In the long run, we will continue to scale up our coverage. We plan to increase our presence to 80 cities in three to five years," Liu said.

 

To fund the expansion, China Gas has organized a flurry of fund-raising activities to build up its war chest in this capital-demanding industry.

 

In one such recent move, China Gas received a 20 billion yuan (US$2.5 billion) loan from China Development Bank.

 

China Gas' expansion plan comes as its major rivals, XinAo Gas and Panva Gas, are also accelerating growth to gain a competitive edge.

 

On the mainland, gas distributors usually signed up exclusive supply contracts with local governments for 30 years. As at the end of last year, XinAo Gas had 59 piped gas projects covering 14 provinces. China Gas covered 48 cities and Panva Gas 18.

 

"The more cities they snap up, the better life will be in coming years," said Andes Cheng, an analyst with the South China Research Ltd.

 

(China Daily May 10, 2006)