(Yicai) Oct. 21 -- SPIC Industry-Finance Holdings rose by its daily trading limit after the financial investment and electricity asset manager under State Power Investment Corporation set out a restructuring plan that will make it China’s third listed nuclear power business.

SPIC Industry-Finance [SHE: 000958] closed up 10 percent at CNY4.50 (63 US cents) a share in Shenzhen today. Trading of the shares had been suspended since Sept. 30, pending the announcement.

SPIC Industry-Finance will exchange its 100 percent stake in financial services provider SPIC Capital Holdings for all of SPIC Nuclear Power, making it a nuclear energy asset operator, the Beijing-based firm said in a statement on Oct. 18.

SPIC Industry-Finance will need to issue new shares to State Nuclear Power Technology and China Life Insurance Group, which have stakes in SPIC Nuclear Power, as equity in SPIC Nuclear Power is more valuable than the company’s current interest in SPIC Capital.

The new share issuing price is set at CNY 3.53, a 8.1 percent discount of the company’s closing price on September 29, but since the value of both SPIC Capital Holdings and SPIC Nuclear Power is still undecided, it is unclear how much new shares are needed to be issued, according to the restructuring plan document. 

After the process is completed, the company also plans to issue new shares to as many as 35 investors to raise funds for energy projects under construction, to complement working capital, and to pay off debt.

SPIC is China's third-biggest nuclear power operator. As of June 30, SPIC Nuclear Power had eight nuclear power units able to generate 9.21 million kilowatt hours of energy. Nuclear power is regarded as a stable, low-carbon energy source that can help China meet its carbon emission reduction goals.

Editor: Tom Litting