Italy's CDP, China's State Grid set to renew governance pact in Italy energy network

Italgas SpA

01/06/2026 11:33

CDP Reti owns a third of Italy's power and gas grid operators
Governance pact to renew automatically this year, sources say
Chinese presence hindered Snam expansion in Germany last year
By Giuseppe Fonte

    ROME, June 1 (Reuters) - Italian state lender CDP and State Grid Corporation of China are set to renew their governance pact in the company handling Italy's key energy networks, sources said, despite concerns among Rome officials over Beijing's influence over these assets.
The pact is due to expire at the end of November but will renew automatically after neither party made use of an option to end it six months before the expiry date, the sources said, asking not to be named.
CDP Reti, among Italy's foremost state-backed companies, owns roughly a third of the country's power and gas grid operators Terna TRN.MI and Snam SRG.MI.
Rome's concerns about Chinese influence on its key energy assets came into focus in November, when Snam scrapped plans to acquire a stake in Germany's largest independent gas transmission firm.
The German economy ministry opposed the transaction due to the presence of the State Grid Corporation of China as an indirect investor in Snam, Reuters reported at the time.
Both Rome and Berlin are aiming to counter China's growing industrial and political influence in Europe, while at the same time trying to maintain key economic ties with Beijing that are vital for their industrial sectors.
Italian state lender Cassa Depositi e Prestiti (CDP) in 2014 sold the State Grid Corporation of China a 35% stake in CDP Reti, which owns 31.4% of Snam, 29.0% of Terna and about 26% of Italgas IG.MI, Italy's biggest gas distributor. Snam also holds 11.4% of Italgas.
Qinjing Shen, a representative of the Chinese state-owned group, sits on the boards of Snam, Terna, Italgas and CDP Reti.
His position on all three boards gives him visibility over Italian moves in the energy sector, fuelling concerns among government circles that the Chinese shareholder could hamper the companies' expansion plans.
Italy's golden power rules allowing it to shield strategic assets cannot be used in the case of CDP Reti, as the renewal of an existing governance pact falls outside the remit of the legislation.
The sources, however, stressed that the pact limits the scope of action of China's State Grid over CDP Reti, and thus safeguards Italy's strategic interests in the three companies.

 (Additional reporting by Francesca Landini in Milan, editing by Gavin Jones)
 ((giuseppe.fonte@thomsonreuters.com; +390680307711;))