China To Award Nuclear Contracts
French state-owned nuclear engineering company Areva SA is expected to land 7 billion euros ($10.39 billion) in contracts later today to supply a Chinese electricity company with two advanced nuclear reactors, the fuel to power them for 15 years and more uranium for other plants, according to French industry and government officials.
The deal to be signed between Areva and China Guangdong Nuclear Power Holding Co., or CGNPC, during French President Nicolas Sarkozy's visit to Beijing this week is part of a plan by China to build dozens of reactors over the next two decades to help satisfy a surge in demand for power.
The contract could also be crucial to the future of Areva, the world's largest nuclear company by revenue.
Not long ago, the French government indicated it was thinking of dismantling Areva, which offers everything in the nuclear production chain from uranium mining to reactor building and fuel waste management.
The government's argument was that Areva can no longer cope with the world's increasing thirst for nuclear energy and should be split up into several companies to better serve clients from the U.S. to China, Britain and South Africa. Recent delays encountered by Areva as it builds a nuclear plant in Finland, Europe's first in 15 years, is fueling the debate.
'Nuclear power is one of France's trump cards. We don't want to spoil it,' Henri Guaino, special adviser to Nicolas Sarkozy, said in a recent interview.
Areva is keen to retain its one-stop-shop structure, arguing that customers such as China's CGNPC see advantages in buying fuel and reactors from one company.
Under the expected deal in China, Areva would sell two 1,600-megawatt power reactors to CGNPC and enough fuel to power them until 2026, according to the people familiar with the matter. Under a separate contract, Areva is expected to supply uranium for other, less powerful reactors that CGNPC plans to build. In the longer term, Areva may also co-operate with China on the building of a used-fuel reprocessing plant, these people said. An official from CGNPC declined to comment.
The tussle between Areva and the French government is part of a larger debate over how the world's nuclear industry plans to handle renewed demand for nuclear energy. The industry, which went into decline after the accidents of Three Mile Island in the U.S. in 1979 and Chernobyl in the Soviet Union in 1987, is experiencing a reawakening. The International Atomic Energy Agency anticipates the construction of at least 60 new plants world-wide over the next 15 years.
Areva was created in 2001 when the dip in demand for nuclear energy prompted the French government -- partly to save costs and retain skilled nuclear engineers -- to pool its scattered nuclear assets into one company.
Germany, which had just opted to phase out nuclear power at home, joined the project. Siemens AG, the German conglomerate, transferred its nuclear assets to the newly created Areva in exchange for a 34% interest in Areva NP, the group's reactor-making arm.
Areva today owns mining operations to extract uranium, notably in Niger and Canada, and enrichment plants to make nuclear fuels. The group designs and manufactures nuclear-power reactors and high-voltage electrical equipment. It also handles the reprocessing of nuclear fuels, which is one of the more sensitive parts of the nuclear chain as it involves handling of the radioactive element plutonium.
But the French government this summer said it planned to review the existing structure of Areva -- including possibly breaking it up and selling off the parts.
In addition, France's nuclear research agency Commissariat a l'Energie Atomique, which manages most of the state's 92% interest in Areva, said it would like to sell a 25% to 30% block on the market or to an industrial buyer to raise some of the funds it needs to decommission ageing research reactors.
Many suitors are emerging.French power plant and bullet-train maker Alstom SA has said it would like to merge with Areva to create a diversified engineering giant that could serve clients around the world.
Construction and media group Bouygues SA, which holds a 30% interest in Alstom, and oil company Total SA have both said they would be interested in buying shares or some of the assets of Areva if the nuclear company were privatized or split up. Japan's Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd., which has industrial partnerships with Areva, has said it would be interested in Areva shares if they were made available.
Some 4% of Areva already trades publicly in the form of nonvoting investment certificates. Based on the certificates' latest price, the company's market value tops 25 billion euros. Alstom has a market value of 20.4 billion euros.
With this week's China deal, Areva hopes to persuade its main shareholder to leave the company's structure unchanged. Instead, Areva executives say they would like to obtain the government green light to raise cash through a rights issue. The issue, combined with a possible partial stake sale by the Commissariat a l'Energie Atomique, would result in a partial privatization. Selling a stake of Areva on the market would also provide the government with an indication of the real value of the company, which analysts say may not be as high as 25 billion euros.
It's unclear what role would be left for Siemens should Areva be partially privatized or split up. Officials at Areva say they hope to continue working with the company. A Siemens spokesman said the company 'has no intention to pull out.'
法国核工业及政府官员称，法国国有核工程公司Areva SA预计将于周一晚些时候与中国广东核电集团有限公司(China Guangdong Nuclear Power Holding Co.，简称CGNPC)签订总价70亿欧元（合103.9亿美元）的合同。根据合同规定，Areva将向CGNPC提供两个先进的核反应堆及配套使用15年的核燃料，同时还会向CGNPC旗下的其他核电厂提供浓缩铀。
这批合同将于法国总统尼古拉•萨科齐(Nicolas Sarkozy)本周到访北京时签订。中国计划在未来的20年中新建数十个核反应堆来帮助满足激增的电力需求，与Areva的合作则是该计划的组成部分之一。
这份订单这对Areva的前途也至关重要。以收入衡量，该公司是全球最大的核能企业，业务覆盖核生产链上的方方面面，从铀矿开采、核反应堆建设，到核废料管理，一应俱全。
但不久前法国政府暗示正在考虑分拆Areva。政府认为Areva无法继续满足全球不断增长的核能需求，所以应该被拆成几个公司来更好地为美国、中国、英国和南非等国的客户服务。Areva在芬兰建造核电厂的项目屡屡延期，这更为是否分拆Areva的争论火上浇油。
萨科齐的特别顾问亨利•瓜亚诺(Henri Guaino)最近在接受访问时说，核能是法国的王牌之一，法国不想糟蹋了这张王牌。
Areva迫切希望保持其“一站式”的业务模式，该公司称像CGNPC这样的客户认为应该从同一家公司购买核燃料和核反应堆。
知情人士表示，根据其中一份即将签署的合同，Areva将向CGNPC出售两个功率为1,600兆瓦的核反应堆，同时提供足以使用到2026年的燃料。这些知情人士称，据另一份合同，预计Areva将向CGNPC其他拟议中的较小型核反应堆提供浓缩铀。今后Areva可能还会与中国合作建造核燃料后处理工厂。CGNPC的一位管理人员拒绝就此发表任何评论。
人们在世界核工业该如何应对不断增长的核能需求这一问题上一直存在争议，而Areva与法国政府之间的博羿只是其中的一个缩影。虽然核工业在1979年美国三哩岛核事故以及1987年前苏联切尔诺贝利核事故之后一度走上了下坡路，但该行业现在已经开始呈现了复苏之势。国际原子能机构(International Atomic Energy Agency)预测在未来15年中全世界将新建至少60座核电厂。
Areva成立于2001年，当时核能需求下降，出于降低成本和挽留人才的考虑，法国政府决心将分散的核资产整合到一家公司中。
当时已决定在本国弃用核能的德国也加入了进来。德国工业巨头西门子公司(Siemens AG)将旗下核资产转移到新成立的Areva，换取后者下属核反应堆制造分公司Areva NP 34%的股份。
目前Areva的铀矿开采和铀提炼业务主要集中在尼日尔和加拿大；该集团还拥有核燃料浓缩工厂，同时还设计并制造核能反应堆和强电设备。除此之外，该集团还进行核燃料的后处理，因为这涉及到核放射元素钸的处理，所以是核反应链中较敏感的环节。
但是今年夏天法国政府表示计划重新审视Areva的现有结构，将其公司拆分、出售部分业务也不无可能。
此外，法国核研究机构Commissariat a l'Energie Atomique表示希望向市场或行业买家出售25%到30%的Areva股份，以便筹集资金来淘汰过时的研究反应堆。Areva的股份有92%归国家所有，而其中大部分在Commissariat a l'Energie Atomique的管理之下。
收购者纷纷涌现。法国发电厂和子弹头列车制造商阿尔斯通公司(Alstom SA)已表示希望与Areva进行合并，成立一个业务多元化的工程巨头来为世界各地的客户提供服务。
拥有阿尔斯通30%股份的建筑及媒体巨擎法国布依格集团(Bouygues SA)以及石油企业道达尔公司(Total)均表示如果Areva私有化或被拆分，它们有意收购其股份或部分资产。Areva的工业合作伙伴日本三菱重工业(Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd.)也表示对收购Areva股份抱有兴趣。
Areva已有4%的股份以无表决权投资证书的形式公开出售。根据证书上的最新价格，该公司的市值超过了250亿欧元。阿尔斯通的市值为204亿欧元。
Areva希望通过本周与中国的交易说服法国政府维持公司现有结构不变。Areva的管理层表示希望法国政府能允许其通过配股来筹集资金。若果真如此，再加上Commissariat a l'Energie Atomique提出的股权出售方案，那么该公司将可能部分私有化。在市场上出售Areva股份还会为政府提供关于公司实际价值的参考，分析人士表示其市值可能达不到250亿欧元。
目前尚不清楚，如果Areva部分私有化或被拆分的话，那么西门子将在公司中扮演什么角色。Areva的管理人员表示希望继续与西门子合作。西门子的一位发言人称公司没有从Areva撤出的计划。