The State Grid Corporation of China, the country's biggest utility, said on June 21 that it has completed purchase of a 24-percent stake in Greece's power grid operator, ADMIE.
The 320-million-euro deal marks another major investment by the State Grid in Europe after buying stakes of power grid companies in Portugal and Italy.
ADMIE is owned by Greece's Public Power Corporation (PPC), which owns, runs and maintains the power transmission network across Greece. The network, which is integrated with grids in many other European countries, is a key power transmission corridor in southern Europe.
Beating bidders from Italy and France, the State Grid won the tender in October 2016. Upon completion of the stake transfer, the State Grid will send its own management team to the Greek company.
The two companies will also strengthen cooperation in power grid construction, financial investment, grid operation, research and development and personnel training.
State Grid owns stakes of backbone power grids in seven countries and regions including Italy, Portugal and Australia. It manages assets valued at more than US$56.8 billion. All of its overseas projects are profitable.
margi� _ p1H%���rgin-right:0cm;margin-bottom:0cm;margin-left: 0cm;margin-bottom:.0001pt;background:white'>According to recent data from Ethiopia's Foreign Ministry, Chinese companies have invested around US$4 billion in Ethiopia during the last two decades, creating job opportunities for over 111,000 Ethiopians on permanent and temporary basis.China is also Ethiopia's largest trading partner, in which the two countries' trade reached US$6.37 billion in 2015, while growing on average 22.2 percent annually for the last several years.
ans-ser3 � clH%���6'>For the first 10 months, China's foreign trade with the United States, its second-biggest trade partner, rose 7.4 percent. Its surplus with the United States widened 11.5 percent from one year earlier to 1.69 trillion yuan.Trade with the European Union (EU), China's biggest trade partner, climbed 8.4 percent year on year for January-October, and that with the ASEAN, its third-largest trade partner, expanded 13.7 percent.
Combined trade with countries along the Belt and Road amounted to 6.84 trillion yuan, up 14.8 percent from one year earlier.
Yingda Securities chief economist Li Daxiao said a string of favorable policies, including lower import tariffs and higher export tax rebates, also helped boost trade growth and stabilize the economic growth.
The country's economy expanded 6.5 percent in the third quarter, down from 6.7 percent in the second quarter but in line with the government's annual target.
Its imports of crude oil climbed 8.1 percent year on year to 377 million tonnes in the first 10 months. Coal imports increased 11.5 percent while those of copper surged 17.2 percent. However, auto imports dropped 5.3 percent compared with one year earlier.
At the ongoing first China International Import Expo, China vowed to import 40 trillion U.S. dollars worth of products and services in the next 15 years.