J-Power, Marubeni Sign China Water, Power Plant Deals

By Yuji Okada and Shigeru Sato

Nov. 28 (Bloomberg) -- J-Power, Marubeni Corp. and JGC Corp. are among Japanese companies that signed agreements today to develop water and power projects in China and gain from increased demand in the fastest-growing major economy.

Electric Power Development Co., the official name of J- Power, will offer technology to China Power International Development Ltd. to increase fuel efficiency at coal-fired thermal generators, a document prepared by Japan’s trade ministry and China’s National Development and Reform Commission shows.

Japanese companies, faced with a shrinking population and stagnating demand at home, are seeking to tap China’s appetite for improved water supply and more efficient power production. Today’s meeting is the third China-Japan environment forum since 2006, reflecting improved ties since Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi left office in Tokyo two years ago.

Marubeni, a Japanese trading house, and JGC agreed with a Chinese partner to tackle water pollution at dams in China and ease water shortages, according to the document. The partners will seek joint water filtration projects in northern China, it said, without elaborating.

State-controlled Japan Bank for International Cooperation, the trade ministry and the China Electricity Council will form a joint committee to back China’s efforts to upgrade outmoded power plants run on coal and increase efficiency, part of efforts to cut emissions of greenhouse gases, the document said.

Japanese Trade Minister Toshihiro Nikai and Xie Zhenhua, vice president of the National Development and Reform Commission, took part in the signing ceremony in Tokyo.

Koizumi angered China by visiting the Tokyo memorial that commemorates Japan’s war dead, including convicted war criminals.

To contact the reporters on this story: Shigeru Sato in Tokyo at ssato10@bloomberg.net; Yuji Okada in Tokyo at yokada6@bloomberg.net.