PARIS (Reuters) - Areva hopes that China's CNNC and Japan's MHI will agree to buy a minority stake in the French state-controlled nuclear group in coming weeks, Areva's chief executive said on Wednesday.
As part of a government-led rescue operation for the virtually bankrupt firm, Areva is preparing to split off its uranium mining and nuclear fuel activities into a new company, provisionally called NewCo, which will get a 3 billion-euro capital increase.
Areva's board chairman Philippe Varin told a French parliament committee hearing on Wednesday the firm plans to launch the capital increase early in 2017, if possible in January, and hopes that it will be subscribed not only by the French state but also by strategic investors.
"We are currently working on obtaining a binding offer from strategic minority partners ...in coming weeks," Varin said.
He mentioned China National Nuclear Corporation (CNNC) and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) but did not mention Kazakhstan's Kazatomprom.
On Tuesday, French online news website BFM Business reported that CNNC, MHI and Kazatomprom were each set to buy an 11 percent stake in Areva.
"These are big companies that want to be partners of Areva. For us this is a positive element - if we manage to sign a deal of course - because it would demonstrate that they believe in the future of Areva," Varin said.
Utility EDF (PA:EDF) agreed last week to buy Areva's reactor construction business for 2.5 billion euros (2.18 billion pounds), clearing the way for Areva to raise new capital.
Loss-making Areva is years behind schedule on projects in France, Finland and China, and the delays have raised concerns at EDF as it lines up Areva to build two new nuclear plants at Hinkley Point in Britain.
Varin specified that the talks with possible partners had not yet been finalised and that in any case the French state would retain a very large majority of more than two thirds of NewCo's capital.
Varin said that because of growing global power needs and the need to reduce CO2 emissions, he expects global nuclear power production will increase by 50 percent by 2030, with China alone accounting for half of that growth.
He added that an expected restart of Japan's nuclear reactors, which have been idled following the 2011 Fukushima disaster, would also boost the nuclear market.
"The future of nuclear is in Asia, hence these partnerships," he said.
Varin also said he hoped the European Commission will give the green light for Areva's restructuring and state-funded capital increase before the end of the year.