Chinese Firm in Talks to Buy Engie Power Plant in Brazil

China's State Power Investment Corp (SPIC) is in talks with Engie SA to purchase the French energy firm's Pampa Sul coal power plant in the southern Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul, a Brazilian newspaper reported on Wednesday.

The two parties are negotiating a sale in the range of 800 million to 1 billion reais ($192 million to $241 million), newspaper Valor Economico reported, citing sources familiar with the matter.

The plant is still under construction and will have a capacity of 340 megawatts.

Engie, Europe's fourth largest utility by market value, has long been reducing exposure to coal and other conventional fossil fuel assets and moving to renewables.

Engie did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Wednesday, while SPIC could not be reached for comment.

Engie told Valor it had put its Brazilian coal assets on the block in line with its global strategy and would not comment on ongoing negotiations.

Reporting by Gram Slattery