BEIJING - Two Chinese energy giants, China Shenhua Energy Company and GD Power Development Co., have agreed to transfer their coal-fired entities and assets to form a joint venture.

The joint venture, with a registered capital of 10 billion yuan (about $1.6 billion), will focus on power and heat generation and sales, according to a statement posted on the website of the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission Monday.

GD Power Development Co. will take a 57.47 percent stake in the joint venture, while China Shenhua will hold the remaining 42.53 percent.

After the merger, the joint venture will have a total installed power generation capacity of 66.29 million kilowatts in operation, while another 10.86 million kilowatts under construction, according to the statement.

The merger was approved by the central government in August. It came as the commission had been actively restructuring the country's state-owned enterprises to improve efficiency.