TOKYO (Reuters) - Japanese conglomerate Hitachi Ltd (T:6501) will completely exit a stalled British nuclear power project, the Mainichi daily newspaper reported on Tuesday, a withdrawal that would deal a blow to Britain's plans to replace aging plants.
Hitachi's board of directors could make a formal decision as early as at their planned meeting on Wednesday, the paper said, citing sources.
In a statement, Hitachi said the Mainichi report is not based on information disclosed by the company. "At this time, no formal decision has been made in this regard," it said.
Hitachi last year froze the 3 trillion yen (22.1 billion pounds) project, at Anglesey, Wales, and booked a writedown of 300 billion yen on its British nuclear unit, as the project failed to find private investors. (https://tinyurl.com/y6f7hogj)
Sources at the time said Hitachi had called on the British government to boost financial support for the project.
The Mainichi report on Tuesday said Hitachi's exit comes as the company sees little chance of progress regarding additional support from the British government, a condition that Hitachi has said would be necessary for project resumption.
