JSW boosted by revised China forecast

07 September 2009

The share price of Japan Steel Works (JSW), the world's largest producer of parts used in reactor pressure vessels, rose by 8.2% to ¥1174 ($12.62) on the Tokyo Stock Exchange after Bloomberg reported the company had more than doubled its forecasts for China's nuclear plant construction. JSW's share price increase was the steepest gain in the Nikkei 225. Ikuo Sato, JSW's president, said that China may build about 22 reactors in the five years ending 2010 and 132 units thereafter, compared with a company estimate last year for a total 60 reactors. The country is increasing spending on nuclear energy as part of a $586 billion economic stimulus and as it moves to cut its greenhouse gas emissions. "China, which had increased construction of coal-fired power plants, is now trying to focus on nuclear power because of the environmental issue," Sato told Bloomberg. Current Chinese plans are to have 72 GWe of nuclear capacity in operation by 2020 with this figure the second upward revision since a 40 GWe target was redrafted in mid-2007.

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