China National Nuclear Power Co. said it is planning a Shanghai initial public offering that will go toward financing part of five power projects worth 173.5bn yuan ($27.2bn), 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 about the timing or size of the offering on its statement posted on Tuesday on the website of the Ministry of Environmental Protection, but analysts said such a deal could raise as much as $5.4bn for the Chinese government. At that size, it would be China's biggest IPO since Agricultural Bank of China raised $10.1bn in Shanghai as part of its $22.1bn dual listing in Hong Kong and Shanghai in July 2010, according to Dealogic.