Nuclear firms’ merger approved in latest State-brokered deal creates $99b giant

China’s State assets regulator said on Wednesday it has approved the proposed merger of China Nuclear Engineering & Construction (CNEC) and China National Nuclear Corp (CNNC), the latest State-orchestrated merger in the nation’s vast power sector.

In a statement on its website, the State-Owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission (SASAC) said it has approved the deal, which joins the country’s main nuclear power engineering and construction company with a big nuclear power producer.

The combined company would have assets worth more than 620 billion yuan ($99 billion) and a workforce of almost 150,000, according to Reuters’ calculations based on data on the companies’ websites and in company filings.

SASAC’s clearance comes about 10 months after the companies’ listed entities said that a deal involving their parent companies was in the works.

Since 2015, China has been trying to streamline its State-owned enterprises (SOEs), tackle rising corporate debt and make businesses more profitable through mergers, reductions in excess capacity and the closure of “zombie” companies.

Last year, it oversaw the merger of top coal miner Shenhua Group Corp with China Guodian Group Corp, among the country’s top five State power producers, to create the world’s largest power utility.

As part of its SOE reforms, the number of enterprises administered by the central government has been reduced to 98 from 117 in 2012.

At the closing on Wednesday, the shares of China National Nuclear Power Corp, a subsidiary of CNEC, were up 0.4 percent to 7.60 yuan.