Toshiba Corp. (6502.TO), the Japan Atomic Power Co., and Marubeni Corp. (8002.TO) have signed a preliminary agreement with Kazakhstan 's National Nuclear Center to jointly determine whether to conduct a feasibility study for a nuclear power plant in the Central Asian country, the three companies said in a statement Wednesday.

"This can be the first step toward a nuclear power plant order from Kazakhstan , though it is still at a very early stage," said an official with the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, who declined to be named.

Both the Japanese public and private sectors have been working hard to sell nuclear power plants and maintenance services abroad in the past couple of years. So far, they have suffered disappointing losses to rivals in South Korea and Russia over projects in the United Arab Emirates and Vietnam .

Other prospective markets for nuclear power projects include emerging economies like India , Malaysia and Indonesia , and resource-rich countries like Kazakhstan and Mongolia .

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