China Huaneng Group will buy Singapore’s Tuas Power for between US$2.8 billion and US$3 billion, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing people familiar with the situation. The Chinese company, which is the parent of Huaneng Power International, the country’s largest listed power producer by capacity, clinched the deal after overcoming five competitors in a bidding war. The sale of Tuas Power by Temasek, the investment arm of the Singapore government, is the first step in the city-state’s plan to privatize its utility sector. Two other major power generators, PowerSeraya and Senoko Power, will also be sold off in coming months. Huaneng is not the first Chinese power company to expand into Southeast Asia. In December, State Grid Corp was part of a successful bid to operate the Philippine power grid.