HONG KONG (Dow Jones Investment Banker) – Amid the largest drop for a month in the Hang Seng index, Tenfu (Cayman) Holdings Company Limited, a producer and retailer of tea products in China, has just started bookbuilding for its Hong Kong IPO of up to US$182 million. The deal, set to price on September 20, with listing on the 26th, is led by China International Capital Corp. (CICC), Credit Suisse, and Taiwan’s Polaris Securities.
Citic Securities formally started book building for its US$2 billion Hong Kong float on Friday. This is a marquee deal likely to generate a lot of interest. Investors have made a pile of money participating in IPOs of mainland financial institutions, and there is hope Citic can repeat that magic despite the challenging market conditions.
HONG KONG (Dow Jones Investment Banker) – The long-awaited equity offering by China’s CITIC Securities Company Limited is finally under way. The brokerage is looking to raise up to US$2 billion from investors, and secure a secondary listing in Hong Kong. Bookbuilding is set to start on September 16, for an October 6 closing. Although CITIC Securities has been listed on the Mainland since 2003, its preliminary filing with HKEx provides a fascinating glimpse into China’s domestic investment banking industry and the activities of one of the leading houses there.
Given the shabby state of markets, you might think that bankers would be wary of pitting two giant mainland firms from the same niche sector in head-to-head IPOs. But that is exactly what is going on with the duelling listings of Sany Heavy Industry and XCMG. Both are construction machinery makers looking to raise billions in a Hong Kong listing. Never mind that interest for one deal will likely cannibalise demand for the other, the floats are on a near identical timetable.
HONG KONG (Dow Jones Investment Banker) – Green tech Guodian Technology and Environment Group has reportedly appointed China International Capital Corp. for a proposed IPO of US$1 billion equivalent in Hong Kong by the end of the year. The company has size, and the backing of a well-known and connected parent, but its flotation could ultimately suffer from the dismal performance of China’s other renewable energy floats, which have left many an investor nursing painful losses.
HONG KONG (Dow Jones Investment Banker) – Trigiant Group Ltd. has just filed a web proof information pack (WPIP) with the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong, the first step towards its proposed IPO. Little information has filtered about the structure of the deal, but a quick round up of ECM desks indicates that the mandate wasn’t competitive. Despite a limited trading history, the company has posted impressive growth rates and enjoys significant market share in an industry it dominates alongside two major competitors. At the same time, its reliance on a small number of clients and suppliers, and its high gearing, raise questions about the sustainability of its business model, as do some troubling past financial practices.
XCMG Construction Machinery is due to start investor education today for a proposed US$1.5 billion Hong Kong IPO. If it proceeds it will be the first listing greater than US$1 billion to test Hong Kong public sentiment since the US sovereign ratings downgrade sent global markets into a major wobble. This is a large offer arriving amid conditions generously described as lukewarm.
HONG KONG (Dow Jones Investment Banker) – Singapore Exchange Ltd. (SGX) may have made headlines this year with the listing of one of Asia’s largest IPOs, Hutchison Port Holdings Trust, and, potentially, with the proposed flotation of Manchester United F.C., but Chinese mid-caps are increasingly leaving the shores of the Lion City to seek a quotation in Hong Kong. The reasons include, above all, greater liquidity, a wider following on the part of sell-side research analysts and, ultimately, a higher valuation.
Hongguo International Holdings, a shoemaker and retailer based in Nanjing, is set to begin investor education for an IPO of US$200 million to US$300 million in Hong Kong. Book building is due to start towards the middle of next month, subject to market conditions.
The market rout and volatility in Asia, and around the world, is likely to lead to an increasing number of cornerstone tranches in IPOs. Very much a feature of new listings in Hong Kong and, to a lesser extent, Singapore, cornerstone investors are large institutions that commit in advance to buying a fixed, pre-agreed allocation in a transaction.
