Coal prices hammer Chinese power giants

China Guodian Corporation and China Huadian Corporation have recorded losses in the first six months of this year.

It is estimated China Datang Corporation has lost about 2 billion yuan.

The China Power Investment Corporation is estimated to have have lost 1 billion yuan.

The coal-fired power plants, which supply 78 percent of the country's electricity, were let down by soaring coal prices, government control of electricity prices, and the rising financial costs resulting from expanding investment and the country's tight monetary policy.