Ningbo Port, based in China's eastern province of Zhejiang, planned to issue 2.5 billion A shares denominated in yuan, or 18.8 percent of its expanded share capital, for a listing on the Shanghai Stock Exchange, it said in a draft prospectus for the A-share initial public offering (IPO).
Proceeds would be mainly be used to develop port projects but also to buy port-related machinery and supplement working capital, it said in the prospectus on the Chinese stock regulator's website, www.csrc.gov.cn.
The regulator, the China Securities Regulatory Commission, would review Ningbo Port's Shanghai IPO application, it said in a statement.
Ningbo Port, one of the busiest in China, chiefly handles containers, iron ore and crude transportation as well as logistics. It also aims to issue 2.35 billion Hong Kong-listed H shares, although it has yet to work out the details, it said.
"H-share issue should bear a price no less than that for A shares, although final pricing will depend on market conditions," Ningbo Port said, adding it has appointed China International Capital Corp (CICC) as the Shanghai IPO's lead underwriter.
Its Shanghai offer will fall just below the $2.3 billion IPO by Huatai Securities launched in February but will lag far behind a $30 billion IPO planned by Agricultural Bank of China [ABC.UL] in China and Hong Kong in the near term. (Reuters)
