China National Nuclear Power Co. said Wednesday it is planning a Shanghai initial public offering that will go toward financing five power projects worth CNY173.5 billion ($27 billion), in a multibillion dollar deal that signals that the country's ramp up of nuclear power is moving forward.

The state-owned nuclear power operator didn't give any other details around timing or size on its statement posted Tuesday on the website of the Ministry of Environmental Protection, but analysts said such a deal could raise as much as US$5.4 billion for the Chinese government. At that size, it would be China's biggest IPO since rural bank Agricultural Bank of China Ltd. raised US$10.1 billion of its record US$22.1 billion Hong Kong and Shanghai listing in the Chinese city, according to Dealogic.

China suspended the construction of new reactors following the Fukushima nuclear disaster in Japan last year. However, the State Council, or cabinet, said last week that leaders had approved the country's 2020 nuclear-safety strategy and had completed inspection of existing nuclear reactors--a sign that approvals may soon resume.

China National Nuclear Power, according to a statement on the environmental ministry website, will float to raise funds for nuclear-power projects in the Fujian , Zhejiang , Hainan and Jiangsu provinces, the statement said, adding that these projects were approved by China 's National Development and Reform Commission between 2008 and 2010. Those projects require CNY173.5 billion in funding, it said. In a separate statement on the website, the ministry said China National Nuclear had passed its environmental tests, a necessary step before the nuclear firm can file for a listing with securities regulator China Securities Regulatory Commission.

Because Chinese laws require just 20% of equity for power projects, China National Nuclear may only need to raise as much as US$5.4 billion for those projects in eastern and southern China . But even at that level, the IPO will be asking a lot of the country's equity markets. The CSRC hasn't approved any sizeable IPOs since May, when the regulator approved China Postal Express & Logistics Co.'s potentially CNY9.98 billion deal, though that has yet to launch. Since early May, the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index is down 4%.

"A big IPO would weigh on the stock market further as it would divert funds from the secondary market, especially when the sentiment remains fragile," said Yang Delong, a fund manager at China Southern Fund.

Still, nuclear is a space that China is fast-expanding, with the country's long-term plans including the construction of as many as 100 reactors over the next two decades. While the government controls electricity prices, making it difficult just how lucrative China's energy sector, the country is clearly moving away from coal as a fuel source, a positive for companies like China National Nuclear Power that build nuclear power plants. China 's nuclear power capacity could rise to between 60 gigawatts and 70 gigawatts by 2020--missing expectations of 80 gigawatts because of the suspension, local media has reported.

The country has 14 nuclear reactors in service, which together produce 11.8 gigawatts, and it plans to expand its nuclear power generating capacity to 40 gigawatts by 2015.

China National Nuclear Power's state-owned parent China National Nuclear Corp. has two listed subsidiaries already: Hong Kong-traded CNNC International Ltd. (2302.HK), which is involved in overseas uranium supply, and Shenzhen-listed Sufa Technology Industry Co. (000777.SZ), which makes valves for nuclear-power equipment.

CNNC's profits rose by 16% in 2011 from a year earlier, CNNC said on its website, without elaborating. CNNC's target profit in 2012 is 7.5 billion yuan, according to the website.

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