
Chinese investment energy has found a focus on South American electricity. On March 15, power company China Southern Power Grid confirmed it had received authorization to purchase 27 percent of Chile's largest electricity transmission system. The Chinese power company paid $1.3 billion to Canadian company Brookfield Asset Management Inc. for a stake in the Chilean electricity company Transelec SA, which operates just under 10,000 kilometers (6,213 miles) of electricity transmission lines and controls around 85 percent of Chile's market. And this purchase is far from the only move Chinese power companies have made in the region's electricity systems. In the past three years, Chinese companies have increased their investments into energy sectors of Argentina and Brazil. During that time, for example, Chinese power companies have spent more than $20 billion in purchasing over 20 electricity assets in Brazil.