China Gas Holdings Ltd., a city gas distributor targeting a fourfold gain in sales by 2008, said it acquired stakes in three gas companies in Inner Mongolia for 179 million yuan ($23 million) to meet rising demand.

China Gas bought an 80 percent interest in Baotou City Gas Ltd., a company that distributes the fuel in the city of Baotou, for 147 million yuan, the company said in a statement to the Hong Kong stock exchange today. It also acquired interests in two companies that specialize in natural gas filling stations and pipelines, it said.

China Gas, which plans to add as many as eight projects this year, is taking advantage of China's push to use more cleaner- burning fuels to cut pollution and reduce a reliance on coal and oil. China wants gas to account for 5.3 percent of total energy consumption by 2010, from about 3 percent now.

The acquisitions represent ``a good opportunity to expand the group's business in China which is in line with the group's overall business objective,'' China Gas said.

The city of Baotou has a population of 2.1 million, the company said.

China Gas may sell 400 million cubic meters of gas this year, compared with 176 million cubic meters in 2006, Chief Financial Officer Eric Leung said in March. Sales in 2008 may reach as much as 800 million cubic meters, he said.