Waste processing service provider China Everbright International is set to dispose of its last non-core business in a bid to focus on the mainland’s booming environmental protection sector.
It has inked a HK$660 million deal to sell its 80 percent stake in Greenway Venture, which has an outstanding debt of HK$188.6 million and is the operator of the Qingzhou Bridge in Fuzhou, Fujian.
The 1.2-kilometer toll bridge connects a north-south coastal expressway that runs from Shenyang, Liaoning, to Haikou in Hainan.
The buyer is Hong Kong-based TransGlobal (Asia) Holdings, engaged in the construction, operation and toll collection of highways, expressways and bridges.
The disposal will be complete by the end of next month and is expected to bring the mainland company a net gain of HK$247 million.
“[The money] will be used for development of the group’s core environmental protection business, such as waste-to-energy projects and waste-water treatment projects,” chief executive Chen Xiaoping said.
China Everbright International is the biggest waste-to-energy operator in the mainland. It is currently able to annually process 3.85 million tonnes of household waste and about 657 million cubic meters of wastewater.
The firm has nine waste-to- energy projects and another seven under construction in the mainland.
The disposal aims to “capitalize on the opportunities that arise from the national policy in developing environmental energy,” Chen said.
Central government investment in waste processing is expected to total 263.6 billion yuan (HK$322.9 billion) in 2011-15, double that in the previous five-year period.
