HONG KONG (Dow Jones Investment Banker) – New China Life Insurance Co. Ltd (NCI) is set to come to market in both Hong Kong and Shanghai in October, with an IPO of US$3 billion to US$4 billion. If successful, it would become only the fifth listed insurance company from mainland China.
HONG KONG (Dow Jones Investment Banker) – It’s gone largely unnoticed against the background of some eye-catching equity deals in Asia in the first half of the year – including the listings of Glencore, Hutchison Port Holdings Trust, Samsonite and Prada S.p.A. – and the recent market meltdown, but 2011 has so far been a pretty good year for convertible bonds.
HONG KONG (Dow Jones Investment Banker) – China Shipping Nauticgreen Holdings Company Limited (CSN) has just started bookbuilding for a proposed IPO of up to US$192 million in Hong Kong, led by Deutsche Bank and China Merchants Securities. Pricing is set for August 10. Less volatile than that of shipping lines, the business is expected to grow, thanks in part to a substantial newbuild ship overcapacity over the next couple of years which should drive freight prices down. With a likely single digit P/E, valuation is reasonable too – a welcome change from some recent Hong Kong offerings.
Neither inflation, a simmering eurozone debt crisis nor the near death of the United States’ AAA rating will keep IPO bankers from their appointed rounds. Hong Kong’s new-listings market in the first half could be generously described as patchy, with most initial public offerings priced in that period trading under water and with 18 deals pulled or otherwise postponed – and markets were in meltdown mode last week. read
Book building and the management roadshow started on August 1 for the proposed IPO of China Shipping Nauticgreen. With a price range of HK$1.56 to HK$2.50 per share, and 600 million new shares offered to investors to fund the purchase of containers, the deal was aiming to raise up to HK$1.5 billion. But as the US markets dropped more than 4 per cent overnight last Thursday, and the Hang Seng Index in turn tumbled almost 1,000 points on Friday morning, the deal was postponed until market conditions improve. read
HONG KONG (Dow Jones Investment Banker) – As the amount of yuan held in deposit accounts in Hong Kong (so-called CNH) continues to pile up, China’s offshore financial product offering slowly expands, despite current restrictions on convertibility.
HONG KONG (Dow Jones Investment Banker) – In contrast to the lackluster European IPO market, new listings in Asia have continued unabated in the first half of this year. And while some 40 deals have been pulled on account of market volatility, year-to-date volumes are close to those in 2010. Asia has remained largely immune to the macro events affecting the EMEA region. Healthy growth rates have continued to fuel consumption and infrastructure stories, and local exchanges have benefited from innovation and aggressive marketing.
HONG KONG (Dow Jones Investment Banker) – The Stock Exchange of Hong Kong (HKEx) released Wednesday a proposed framework for IPOs denominated in yuan there. The model, which effectively mirrors arrangements for the issue and trading of GDRs and ADRs, looks sound in theory.
HONG KONG (Dow Jones Investment Banker) – Tibet 5100 Water Resources Holdings Ltd is attempting to raise up to US$206 million in an IPO in Hong Kong. Although formally incorporated in the Cayman Islands as a red chip, if successful, it would be the first company from Tibet to list on the exchange there. The deal is small, but the growth rates posted by the company are impressive, as is its handle on costs, even if it remains very dependent at this stage on its cooperation with a rail transport operator.
Against the background of a morose Hong Kong IPO market, two large deals are entering marketing this week in the form of a US$5.4 billion (estimated) proposed listing of China Everbright Bank, and a mooted US$1 billion float of Chinese hypermarket operator Sun Art Retail. read
