State Grid Corp of China (SGCC) chairman Wei Kou has officially expressed an interest by the company to boost its 24 percent share of Greek power grid operator IPTO at a meeting with energy minister Costis Hatzidakis, ministry sources have informed.

The SGCC proposal will now be examined by the government, planning to offer a further stake of IPTO to investors.

SGCC holds preferential rights for the sale of any additional IPTO stake, according to a  shareholders’ agreement signed in 2017 for the Chinese company’s acquisition of a 24 percent stake.

The SGCC head official also confirmed his company’s interest to acquire a 20 percent stake in Ariadne, an IPTO subsidiary established as a special purpose vehicle for the development of the Crete-Athens electricity grid interconnection.