The purchase of a stake in REN – Redes Energéticas Nacionais by the Portuguese State was discussed during a Government visit to China in September 2025. The revelation was made this Tuesday, September 1st, by the Minister of Environment and Energy, Maria da Graça Carvalho, in Brussels.
The Chinese state company China State Grid is the largest shareholder of REN, holding 25% of the capital, acquired during the troika privatizations in 2012. In August, the Portuguese State purchased 14% of the company for 380 million euros, including a premium of 55 million euros, from an investment company owned by the owner of Zara, the Galician Amancio Ortega.
Maria da Graça Carvalho stated that the operation "has been being studied and planned since we have been in Government, since 2024, coordinated by the prime minister, who has always had this as his intention". The minister also added that the matter was part of the prime minister's agenda during his visit to China, which she accompanied, having stayed a little longer in the country precisely to deal with this matter.
