Aluminum companies consider consolidation under SOE reform program

China is trying to push its two biggest aluminum businesses together as part of a planned shake-up of State-owned enterprises, industry sources said, a move that would create the world's largest aluminum maker.

Power company State Power Investment Corp is in talks to hive off its aluminum assets to Aluminum Corp of China Ltd, also known as Chinalco, allowing SPI to focus on power construction and generation, three industry sources said.

The consolidation is shaping up as a test of Beijing's ambitions to restructure its vast but underperforming State-owned sector, particularly at a time of slowing economic growth.