Steelmaker Shougang seeking to raise $1.8bRaymondWang Thursday,...

Steelmaker Shougang seeking to raise $1.8b

RaymondWang

Thursday, July 26, 2007

Shougang Concord International (0697), a unit of the mainland's third-largest steelmaker, Shougang Group, is joining a number of other Hong Kong-listed companies tapping the equity market with a share sale aimed at raising up to HK$1.81 billion.
A term sheet sent to investors gave an indicative price range of HK$2.14 to HK$2.26 apiece for the sale of 800 million shares. This represents a discount of 8.13 percent to 13.01 percent to the steelmaker's closing share price of HK$2.46 per share on Wednesday morning.

Trading in shares of Shougang Concord International was suspended on Wednesday afternoon pending an announcement regarding the proposed share placement. The stock had jumped 6.49 percent before the suspension.

JPMorgan is handling the share sale, which represents a 13.6 percent stake in the company.

This week, a number of Hong Kong-listed companies joined the race to tap the market for funds. Chuang's China Investments (0298) is raising as much as HK$319 million from a share placement.

Shenzhen Investment (0604), the investment arm of the Shenzhen city government, also seeks to raise up to HK$1.056 billion from a share sale.

Meanwhile, CC Land Holdings (1224), a property developer in western China, aims to raise about HK$2.27 billion from a placement.

Separately, Hong Kong-listed Xinyu Hengdeli Holdings (3389), a distributor and retailer of high-end Swiss watches in the mainland, is attempting to raise as much as 1billion yuan (HK$1.03 billion) by issuing a five-year yuan- denominated convertible bond, according to a term sheet sent to investors.

The company could issue a further 150 million yuan worth of convertible bonds if there is robust demand, the term sheet said. BNP Paribas is the arranger.