China Huaneng buys 40 pct stake in Gansu miner

SHANGHAI, Oct 27 (Reuters) - China Huaneng Group, one of the country's largest power generating firms, has bought a 40 percent stake in Huating Coal Group, the top coal mining company in the northwestern province of Gansu, the company said.

Huaneng's statement posted on its website (www.chng.com.cn) did not disclose the investment amount, and the company could not be immediately reached for comment.

China's power generating companies have been actively seeking opportunities to buy into coal mines to help bring down the cost of coal.

High coal prices have pushed the power generators into the red, despite two on-grid tariff hikes in the past summer.

Huaneng Power International (0902.HK)(HNP.N)(600011.SS), the listed arm of the group, posted a 2.16 billion yuan ($315.6 million) loss in the third quarter of the year, compared with a 1.47 billion yuan net profit a year earlier, based on Chinese accounting standards.

Huating Coal Group produced 16.5 million tonnes of coal in 2007, and has coal reserves of 3.48 billion tonnes, according to the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission (www.sasac.gov.cn).

($1=6.843 Yuan) (Reporting by Rujun Shen; Editing by Ken Wills)