GMR Infrastructure on Monday said it has agreed to sell 30% stake in its Singapore power arm to Petronas International Corp, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Malaysia?s oil and gas firm Petroleum Nasional Berhard. The company did not specify the value of the deal.

According to a company official, Petronas has acquired the stake at a 30% premium. The company said the deal, which is subject to the approval of the lenders, could be an opening for other possible opportunities between the two groups in India and globally.

?The relationship between GMR and Petronas opens up powerful synergy for both the groups. It is symbolic of true south-south cooperation and its immense potential in the energy market in the region,? said G Mallikarjuna Rao, group chairman, GMR.

Last month, GMR Energy (Singapore) began construction of the 800 mw natural gas fired plant, called Island Power, on Singapore?s Jurong Island and it plans to start commercial operations by 2013. The plant, whose development cost is over S$1 billion, is GMR?s first independent project outside India.

The electricity retail business will be managed by GMR Supply Singapore, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the GMR Group which holds an electricity retail licence.

?This acquisition marks the Petronas Group?s maiden foray into the international power market, and is a major step in its effort to extend its existing integrated presence further along the energy value chain,? said Datuk Anuar Ahmad, executive vice-president, Gas and Power Business of Petroleum Nasional Berhard (Petronas).

GMR had acquired 100% ownership of Island Power in 2009 from InterGen, a global power generation company in which it had bought 50% in 2008. The company divested its stake in InterGen to the China Huaneng Group for $1.23 billion in March. In July, it achieved financial closure for the power plant, which included a term loan of S$ 670 million and $270 million credit and working capital facility with a tenure of 17 years.

GMR Infrastructure has interests in airports and highways besides energy. It currently operates three power plants at Chennai, Kakinada and Vemagiri with a total generation capacity of 808 and has at least 12 projects in various stages of implementation.

It expects to commission a 768 mw natural gas plant in Rajamundry, a 600 mw thermal plant in Maharashtra and a 25 mw solar plant in Gujarat over the next couple of years.