GD Power Development Co, the listed unit of one of China's five biggest electricity producers, received government approval to buy power plant stakes from its parent for 3.2 billion yuan (US$419 million), Bloomberg News reported.

GD Power will get stakes in six power plants in China, the company's parent, China Guodian Corp, said in a statement on its Website yesterday.

China is reorganizing ownership of power assets to boost efficiency and cut costs. The Chinese government has opened bidding to sell 6,470 megawatts of state power plant assets, the Shanghai Securities News reported on Thursday. China Guodian is among companies that have agreed to buy state power assets.

"The stake transfer is an important step in the group company's structural reforms," Zhu Yongpeng, vice president of China Guodian, said in the statement. China Guodian increased its stake in GD Power by 24.2 percent to 61.8 percent as part of the government's plan to separate ownership of power plants and distribution assets, the company said on May 30.