A report published on the Chinese business news website Caixin on September 4 says unnamed sources within China Railways Corporation (CRC) and the state-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission (SASAC) have confirmed that the government is planning a merger of the two suppliers with the aim of creating a more competitive market player to boost the international presence of China's railway industry.
The sources claim that the two companies have submitted a merger plan to SASAC. CSR wants CNR to delist from the Shanghai and Hong Kong stock exchanges but CNR is pushing for the creation of a new parent company with the two suppliers as subsidiaries. SASAC is said to favour the CSR plan, although the report says CRC, the largest customer of the two suppliers, is opposing a merger in any form and the manufacturers are "lukewarm."
