China's Datang to build power plants in Kazakhstan

BEIJING, April 9 (Reuters) - Chinese state-run power producer Datang Corp will sign a deal later on Wednesday to build several power stations in Kazakhstan, in the firm's biggest investment in the central Asian nation.

Zhai Ruoyu, chairman of Datang Corp and its Hong Kong-listed Datang International Power Ltd (0991.HK: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), said the preliminary pact would cover thermal, wind and hydro power projects.

Datang will need to go through a Kazakh government tender to gauge the size of investment, Zhai told reporters on the sidelines of a China-Kazakhstan forum organised to coincide with a visit to Beijing of Kazakh Prime Minister Karim Masimov.

Investment in Kazakhstan by Datang, China's second-largest power producer, has so far been limited to small-scale hydro power units, company officials said.

The two nations are due to sign agreements for joint development of 40 projects, most of which are in sectors other than natural resources, as the fast-developing central Asian economy seeks to reduce its reliance on energy and minerals.

(Reporting by Chen Aizhu; editing by Anne Marie Roantree)