The State Council again mentions that the reorganization of private enterprises by coal is still worried about the weak acquisition

Shanxi model is confirmed that coal reorganization speed

The merger and reorganization of coal mining companies originating in Shanxi has finally become a national strategy.

On August 25, Premier Wen Jiabao of the State Council presided over the executive meeting of the State Council to study and deploy and promote the merger and reorganization of coal mining enterprises. The relevant person of the National Energy Administration told the Huaxia Times reporter that the contents of this government work conference indicated that the merger and reorganization of Shanxi coal enterprises has been affirmed at the national level, and mergers and reorganizations of coal companies have continued the idea of ​​“building a small business”. The future government Support for the merger and reorganization of coal companies will gradually increase.

In 2008, Shanxi Province took the lead in launching a government-led “storm” of coal resource integration. Subsequently, the reorganization and integration of coal in Henan, Inner Mongolia, and Shaanxi provinces quickly followed suit. With the convening of this meeting of the State Council, the nationwide coal resources reorganization will further accelerate.

According to the goals previously proposed by the National Energy Administration, the national plan for the “Twelfth Five-Year Plan” period will reduce coal companies from the current 11,000 to 4,000 through mergers and acquisitions within three years. “The increasingly concentrated coal industry will be an inevitable trend.” Many industry insiders expressed this view when interviewed by this reporter.

In addition, it is worth noting that the private coal enterprises that have been the subject of mergers and acquisitions have transformed themselves into the main bodies of coal consolidation encouraged by the government after this meeting, but many private coal enterprises have expressed their concern.

"The implementation of policies is still a problem. After all, compared with the government and state-owned enterprises, private enterprises are always in a weak position. Even if they have purchasing power, they may eventually escape the fate of being integrated." Cheng Guoqiang, a private coal company owner in Shanxi, wrote a The reporter said so.

Shanxi model affirmed

Obviously, Shanxi coal mining companies have been recognized by the national level for mergers and reorganizations.

Since 2008, Shanxi Provincial Department of Land and Resources issued the "Measures for Dealing with the Resources and Prices of Coal Mines' Mergers and Reorganizations." Small coal mines in Shanxi Province will be fully integrated and reorganized by large state-owned coal companies.

For Shanxi Province's integration of small coal mines, opponents have always believed that this is a “state of the nation’s advancement” in the field of coal capital. However, the National Development and Reform Commission and the National Energy Administration fully affirmed the practice of Shanxi and believe that the merger and reorganization of Shanxi Coal “meet the basic characteristics of the coal industry”. On the 25th, the State Council executive meeting presided over by Premier Wen Jiabao once again proved this point.

According to relevant sources from the National Energy Administration, coal resource integration work is currently under way in Shanxi, Henan, and Shandong, and it is expected that this meeting will further promote the implementation of coal mining provinces and cities in strengthening the merger and reorganization of coal companies. The content of this government work conference also indicates that the merger and reorganization of coal companies has gradually risen to the national level.

In June of this year, Fang Junshi, Director of the Coal Department of the National Energy Administration, revealed at a coal industry conference that the State Council is studying the development of coal mergers and reorganization policies and is expected to rise to the level of national laws and regulations.

According to the reporter’s understanding, after the meeting of the State Council, the relevant ministries and commissions are likely to introduce some fiscal, taxation, and financial policies for small coal mines that have been integrated, such as tax reductions on the purchase of advanced coal-fired equipment for small coal mines, purchase of equipment, and interest rate concessions. Etc. to increase the enthusiasm of merger and reorganization of the main body.

Upstream and downstream companies participate in restructuring

The integration of the coal industry began to accelerate all the time, and the upstream and downstream industries were encouraged to participate in mergers and acquisitions for the first time.

This meeting of the State Council proposed that in addition to encouraging various ownership of coal mining enterprises, other industries, such as those in the main related industries (electricity, metallurgy, and chemical industry) of the coal industry, are encouraged to participate in mergers and acquisitions with property rights as the link and joint-stock system as the main form. . This means that the creation of coal-fired chemical integrated energy giants will become a trend, and the potential impact on accelerating the integration of coal resources will be enormous.

"If the policy level encourages enterprises such as electric power and metallurgy to intervene in upstream resources, it will not only promote coal integration, but also enable companies in these industries to effectively reduce cost pressures and maximize the use of coal resources." Senior Coal Industry Analyst Zhen Zhen analysis said.

However, at the same time, it will inevitably increase the game between coal-fired power companies. Since last year, many power companies have begun to purchase coal mines to intervene in the upstream market in order to get out of their way. Coal and electricity companies have both deployed upstream and downstream.

It is under this pressure that the integration of coal resources in Henan and Shandong has continued to accelerate this year. Henan requires that the integration be completed by the end of this year, and Shandong Province plans to create two coal giants in the province directly with the "7-in-2" coal reorganization model.

Wu Wei, the deputy director of the National Energy Administration, had previously stated in an exclusive interview with the media that the reorganization and integration of coal in Shanxi, Henan, Inner Mongolia, and Shaanxi provinces has achieved some results. However, in general, the further development of coal resources needs further integration. In the Chinese energy industry, the concentration of the coal industry is low, the oil industry is dominated by four major companies, and the power industry is dominated by five major companies. In the long run, approaching the oil industry and the power system should be the goal of the merger and reorganization of coal companies.

Private enterprises are still worried about "glass door"

The meeting of the State Council specifically mentioned the encouragement of private enterprises to participate in mergers and acquisitions. This is considered to be the further implementation of the “new 36” that encourages private investment. However, many private enterprises are not optimistic about this.

Cui Consulting Coal Industry analyst Song Zhichen pointed out to this reporter that private enterprises are always in a passive position in coal mergers and acquisitions. The main reason is that the financial strength is limited, and those large-scale state-owned coal companies often have the backing of strong capital strength. It also logically became the subject of integration.

For private enterprises, participating in the integration of coal resources still faces a "glass door" - visible but inaccessible. This point, Cheng Guoqiang has deep feelings. He told this reporter that compared with large-scale state-owned enterprises, private enterprises have always been in a weak position. Even if this country proposes to encourage private enterprises to become acquisition entities, it is true that private enterprises that have acquisition ability are There are few.

However, it cannot be said that private enterprises have not yet become the main body of mergers and reorganizations. Song Zhichen believes that private enterprises in the coal industry can obtain this initiative through a joint approach, but this also needs to receive policy support and proper government guidance.