China Zhongwang Plans Year's Biggest IPO

飞雪寒冰

China Zhongwang Holdings Ltd. plans to raise up to 12.3 billion Hong Kong dollars (1.6 billion U.S. dollars) in the world’s biggest initial public offering this year, according to documents issued to investors.



It would be only the second IPO to raise more than USD 1 billion in Hong Kong, following the debut of China South Locomotive & Rolling Stock Industry Co. (SH.601766; HK: 01766), which raised USD 1.6 billion in an August IPO.



Zhongwang Holdings, an overseas-registered unit of Asia’s biggest maker of extruded aluminum products by capacity, China Zhongwang Group, plans to issue 1 billion shares priced between HKD 6.8 and HKD 8.8.



The Liaoning-based company will take share subscriptions April 24 to 29.



China’s domestic private-owned enterprises usually list on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange via overseas-registered shell companies. The shell company then acquires the parent’s assets and launches an IPO.



Hong Kong investors have been allocated 140 million of the 1 billion shares, with the remainder up for sale to global institutions. The company started its IPO marketing with an investor lunch in Hong Kong on April 20. The stock is due to list on May 8,

飞雪寒冰

The company has hired Citic Securities International, JPMorgan Chase & Co., and UBS Securities Co. to underwrite the share issue.



Zhongwang’s issuing price is 12 to 14 times its forecast results for 2009, a range likely to hold due to increased liquidity in the market, according to an underwriter who asked not to be identified.



Hong Kong’s IPO market slowed to a crawl in the first quarter as the impact of the global financial crisis dampened demand for new equity. Only seven stocks have launched in Hong Kong this year, raising HKD 335 million, down 92.1 percent from 2008.



However, China’s 4-trillion-yuan stimulus package appears to have triggered a revival in investor interest, with Zhongwang set to benefit directly as the measures focus on aluminum-intensive infrastructure projects. Analysts expect Zhongwang’s IPO will trigger a wave of IPOs in Hong Kong during the rest of this year, Reuters has reported.



Zhongwang booked 1.91 billion yuan profit in 2008, with revenue driven by sales to companies like China South Locomotive and China North Locomotive, according to investors attending the lunch.

飞雪寒冰

Taishan Capital Corp, a US private equity firm, invested USD 100 million in parent company Zhongwang International Group last July. Taishan’s stake will account for no more than 10 percent of the stake transferred to the shell company.



Zhongwang has been preparing its IPO since 2006, but postponed the launch for three years as it built up production. It has booked steady year-on-year increases in profit since 2007.



According to Thomson Reuters data, only 59 companies have launched IPOs on global stock exchanges so far this year, raising USD 1.9 billion, down 95.7 percent from a year earlier.

Minson

ok , i see