December 15, 2003 10:33:00 AM ET
By Daisy Ku
HONG KONG, Dec 15 (Reuters) - Air China will meet bankers on Tuesday to choose underwriters for an international public offering next year, the latest firm looking to cash in on investor demand for Chinese listings, banking sources said on Monday.
The size of the Air China deal would probably be under US$1 billion, the investment banking sources said, much smaller than last week's China Life Insurance Co Ltd issue, which raised US$3 billion in the world's biggest IPO this year.
"Air China will likely float next year," one of the sources said, adding that the airline was now profitable -- one of the conditions for a Hong Kong listing.
Investment banks meeting with Air China, the country's third largest carrier by passenger numbers, include UBS , HSBC Holdings Plc , Goldman Sachs (GS) and Merrill Lynch (MER), the sources said.
China International Capital Corp (CICC) is the firm's advisor for the listing, the sources said.
Air China's main domestic rivals, Shanghai-based China Eastern Airlines Corp Ltd (CEA) and China Southern Airlines Co Ltd (ZNH), are already listed in Hong Kong, New York and Shanghai.
Chinese carriers were hit hard by the outbreak of the SARS virus earlier this year when passengers all but disappeared, but traffic, particularly domestic, has bounced back quickly.
Mainland Chinese firms have been flocking to Hong Kong to raise funds, capitalising on continuing investor affection for China. The H-share index of mainland Chinese firms listed here has more than doubled in the year to date.
Shares of Chinese truck maker Great Wall Automobile Holding Co Ltd rose 28 percent on their Hong Kong market debut on Monday.
China Life shares will debut in New York on Wednesday and in Hong Kong on Thursday.
Other firms looking to tap foreign interest in Chinese listings include Ping An Insurance, China Construction Bank, Minsheng Bank and Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp. They are expected to raise between them up to $9 billion in 2004. REUTERS
© 2003 Reuters
By Daisy Ku
HONG KONG, Dec 15 (Reuters) - Air China will meet bankers on Tuesday to choose underwriters for an international public offering next year, the latest firm looking to cash in on investor demand for Chinese listings, banking sources said on Monday.
The size of the Air China deal would probably be under US$1 billion, the investment banking sources said, much smaller than last week's China Life Insurance Co Ltd issue, which raised US$3 billion in the world's biggest IPO this year.
"Air China will likely float next year," one of the sources said, adding that the airline was now profitable -- one of the conditions for a Hong Kong listing.
Investment banks meeting with Air China, the country's third largest carrier by passenger numbers, include UBS , HSBC Holdings Plc , Goldman Sachs (GS) and Merrill Lynch (MER), the sources said.
China International Capital Corp (CICC) is the firm's advisor for the listing, the sources said.
Air China's main domestic rivals, Shanghai-based China Eastern Airlines Corp Ltd (CEA) and China Southern Airlines Co Ltd (ZNH), are already listed in Hong Kong, New York and Shanghai.
Chinese carriers were hit hard by the outbreak of the SARS virus earlier this year when passengers all but disappeared, but traffic, particularly domestic, has bounced back quickly.
Mainland Chinese firms have been flocking to Hong Kong to raise funds, capitalising on continuing investor affection for China. The H-share index of mainland Chinese firms listed here has more than doubled in the year to date.
Shares of Chinese truck maker Great Wall Automobile Holding Co Ltd rose 28 percent on their Hong Kong market debut on Monday.
China Life shares will debut in New York on Wednesday and in Hong Kong on Thursday.
Other firms looking to tap foreign interest in Chinese listings include Ping An Insurance, China Construction Bank, Minsheng Bank and Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp. They are expected to raise between them up to $9 billion in 2004. REUTERS
© 2003 Reuters
