WH Group to undertake one of Asia’s biggest IPOs

Two companies have filed applications to the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong to launch separate IPOs of hefty sizes.

WH Group, formerly known as Shuanghui International, filed an application to undertake one of Asia's biggest IPOs of recent years, following its acquisition of US pork producer Smithfield Foods. The proposed float, which is expected to raise US$5bn–$6bn, is set to launch in April.

BOC International, Citic Securities International, DBS, Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, Standard Chartered and UBS are sponsors of the IPO.

Harbin Bank, located in North-East China, also filed an application for its proposed IPO of US$1bn, which is expected to hit the market as early as the end of March.

ABC International, BOC International and CICC are sponsors on the float. Seven others, namely BoCom International, China Merchants Securities, CMB International, CIMB, Credit Suisse, DBS and Haitong International, joined the syndicate last month.

Taiwan's Far Eastern International Bank raised US$135m through the sale of GDRs. The deal was launched at a base deal size of 16.2m GDRs with an option to increase the deal size by 3.96m GDRs. The option was partly exercised as 18.25m GDRs were sold in the end.

The offer was priced at US$7.40 per share, at the bottom of the indicative price range of US$7.40–$7.64, or at a discount of 8% to the pre-deal spot.

The deal saw good participation from long-only funds and hedge funds. There were about 40 investors on the book. The deal was mainly sold to international investors, though some domestic accounts also participated in the transaction.

There is a 90-day lock-up on the vendor.

Deutsche Bank and UBS were the joint bookrunners.

Goldpoly New Energy raised HK$826m (US$107m) from a placement of primary shares. The base deal comprised 420m shares at an indicative price range of HK$1.70–$1.74 each, or at a discount of 7.5%–9.6% to the stock's January 22 closing price of HK$1.88.

Due to strong demand, the deal was later increased to 480m shares. It was priced at HK$1.72 each, representing a discount of 8.5% to the pre-deal spot.

The book was multiple times covered, with more than 100 investors participating. There was good support from existing shareholders and renewable energy funds. Demand came mostly from Asia. European accounts participated as well. 

There is a 180-day lock-up for the company. Proceeds will be used for acquisition of solar power plants, as well as for general corporate purposes.

BOC International, Morgan Stanley and CLSA were the joint bookrunners.

Playmates Holdings raised HK$295m (US$38m) through the sale of its stake in subsidiary Playmates Toys.

Playmates Holdings sold 82m shares, or 6.95% of the existing share capital, at the bottom of the indicative price range of HK$3.60–$3.80, or at a discount of 10% to the pre-deal spot. There were more than 50 accounts in the book with strong support from long-only funds.

The vendor is under a 90-day lock-up. CLSA was the sole bookrunner.

South Korea's GS Engineering & Construction raised US$100m through a convertible bond issue. The 3.25% bonds are due in 2019 and the coupon was fixed from the 2.75%–3.25% range payable semi-annually.  

The conversion premium is 20% above the reference share price of W36,300 (US$33.45) and was fixed from the 20%–30% range. The initial conversion ratio is 6,151.6873 shares for one bond of US$250,000 denomination. The bonds can be converted 12 months after closing date and seven days prior to the maturity date.

There is an investor put option on or about January 28 2016. The put price is 100% of the principal amount and the redemption price at maturity is 100% of the principal amount. About 20–25 accounts participated in the transaction.

JP Morgan was the sole bookrunner.

Comforia Residential REIT has priced its ¥22.7bn (US$218m) follow-on offering  at ¥712,530 a share. At the base deal size of 31,900 shares the transaction will total ¥22.7bn. There is a greenshoe of 1,595 shares.

The final price represented a discount of 2.7% to the January 22 close ¥732,000 when the issue was priced.

Mizuho and SMBC Nikko are joint lead managers. Daiwa, Nomura, Mitsubishi UFJ Morgan Stanley and Tokai Tokyo are also underwriters.

Proceeds will be used to help fund the acquisition for ¥37.4bn of 22 properties.

The final price of Honworld Group's Hong Kong IPO is HK$7.15 (US$0.92) and not HK$4.95 as IFR reported. As reported yesterday, the deal raised HK$893m after pricing at the top of the indicative range. The company marketed 125m shares at a guidance range of HK$4.95–$7.15

 

1MDB IPO [Source: IFR]

Got this fwd email from someone lately.

Malaysia’s state-owned investment company 1Malaysia Development (1MDB) has started preparations for its long-awaited IPO, after CIMB’s US$1.09bn placement.

1MDB has sent out requests for proposals to banks ahead of a potential IPO to raise US$1bn–$2bn. Further details on the RFPs, sent on Monday, will be provided to banks that sign a non-disclosure agreement.

The IPO would comprise 1MDB’s power assets, a source said, adding that the IPO size was only a guess at this stage.

Malaysia’s IOI Properties rose sharply in debut trade to M$3.15 (US$0.95) from its restricted offer for sale price of M$1.76 each. Shareholders of IOI Corp were offered one share of IOI Properties for every six shares of IOI at M$1.76 each.

AmInvestment Bank, RHB Investment Bank and Standard Chartered were the joint principal advisers of the offer.

Keppel Telecommunications & Transportation, a unit of Temasek-backed Keppel Corp, has mandated banks for its IPO of S$500m (US$393m). Credit Suisse, DBS and Standard Chartered are the joint global co-ordinators and bookrunners with Deutsche Bank and Goldman Sachs.

The IPO, the first of a data centre trust in Asia, outside Australia, is expected in the first half of this year. The final IPO size will depend on the assets to be included in the REIT and the promoter stake.

Keppel T&T has data centres in Singapore, Malaysia, Australia, Britain, Ireland and the Netherlands, some of which Securus Data Property Fund owns. Securus is a Sharia-compliant data centre fund that Keppel T&T runs with AEP Investment Management. 

Biostime International, a manufacturer of babycare products, has raised HK$2.5bn (US$323m) from an offering of convertible bonds.

The offering, resulting from China’s relaxation of one-child policy and the company’s recent moves to transform itself into a nationwide player, generated good response and was covered within an hour.

Biostime’s share price had doubled in the six months before the deal was launched, so the bond was priced at the investor-friendly end. The yield to put/maturity was set at 2.875%, versus a guidance range of 1.875%–2.875%, while the conversion premium was fixed at the bottom of the indicative range of 27.50%–40.00% above the reference price of HK$71.25. 

The bond has a tenor of five years and an investor put after three years.

The offering drew a few large anchor orders and there were 35 investors on the book, including long-only and hedge funds. The top five investors took up about 40% of the allocation.

There is an option to increase the deal size by HK$600m, which can be exercised on or before February 20.

The demand for the CBs actually allowed the lead to exercise that option immediately, but it chose not to so as to ensure decent trading in the aftermarket. It traded just above par this morning.

At the final terms, the implied volatility was about 25%, credit-spread assumption was 350bp and stock borrow cost 5%, giving a bond floor of around 95.

Proceeds will be used to finance expansion of existing businesses as well as meet general corporate purposes.

HSBC was the sole global co-ordinator and sole bookrunner.

Hong Kong Electric Investments, a proposed spin-off of Hong Kong-listed Power Assets, is looking to pay a generous underwriting fee for its up to HK$27.9bn (US$3.6bn) Hong Kong float. According to the preliminary prospectus, the business trust will pay an underwriting fee of 2.5% and an incentive fee of 0.5%.

This is higher than the IPO fees of both China Cinda Asset Management and China Everbright Bank. The former paid a 2.5% underwriting fee for its US$2.8bn deal, while the latter paid an underwriting fee of 1.5% and an incentive fee of 0.5% for its US$3.2bn float.

Assuming the HKE Investments deal is priced at the top of the indicative range and a 3% fee is paid out, banks on the deal will receive US$108m.

Goldman Sachs and HSBC joint global co-ordinators and joint bookrunners on the deal. There are also a number of co-lead managers including Barclays, BNP Paribas, BOC International, Citigroup, Deutsche Bank, DBS and Morgan Stanley.

Global Gaming Asset Management has launched a Ps7.4bn–Ps7.6bn (US$164m–$169m) block in Philippines’ Bloomberry Resorts. The vendor is selling 921.1m shares in the Ps8–Ps8.25 range, an 8.1%–10.9% discount to the January 15 close of Ps8.98. Global Gaming is selling its entire 8.7% stake in Bloomberry.

Cantor Fitzgerald, Credit Suisse and Deutsche Bank are the joint bookrunners. 

The chairman and executive directors of Hong Kong restaurant chain operator Tsui Wah Holdings are in the market selling their shares to raise up to HK$592m (US$76m). The sellers are offering 116m shares at an indicative price range of HK$4.99–$5.10 each or at a discount of 5.9%–7.9% to the pre-deal spot.

There is a 60-day lock-up on the vendors. Nomura is the sole bookrunner.

Japan’s Industrial & Infrastructure Fund Investment Corp will be launching a share sale of ¥7.5bn (US$72m) on January 22. The company will be selling 8,668 units at a 2.5%–5% discount to the January 15 close of ¥871,000. The transaction will total ¥7.5bn at the January 15 close.

Around 4,334 units each will be sold to international and domestic investors. There is an overallotment option of 432 units. Book will close on January 24.

Morgan Stanley, Nomura and SMBC Nikko are joint bookrunners. 

Pipeline

• January 15 – Shaanxi Coal Industry (China) US$1.6bn Shanghai IPO. CICC, BOCI, Citic

• January 16 – OUE Commercial Trust (Singapore) Around US$350m REIT IPO. CIMB, Citi, JPM, OCBC, RHB, StanChart

• January 22 – Hong Kong Electric Investments (Hong Kong) US$4bn–$5bn SEHK business trust IPO. GS, HSBC

• January 22–24 – Mitsubishi Motors Corp (Japan) US$2.2bn primary follow-on. MS, Nomura, BofA Merrill

• January 22–27 – Advance Residence Investment Corp (Japan) US$120m primary follow-on. Mizuho, MUFJMS

• January 22–27 – Comforia Residential REIT (Japan) US$210m primary follow-on. Mizuho, SMBC Nikko

• January 29 – Hulic REIT (Japan) US$515m REIT IPO. Mizuho, Nomura

• January 2014 – 8990 Holdings (Philippines) Up to US$300m follow-on. CIMB, SB Capital

• Q1 2014 – Akara Resources (Thailand) US$500m IPO. CIMB, Macquarie, Maybank, MS

• Q1 2014 – L&T Infrastructure Development Projects (India) US$600m–$700m SGX business trust IPO. DB, JPM, Nomura, StanChart

• Q1 2014 – 7-Eleven Malaysia (Malaysia) Up to US$250m IPO. Maybank, UBS, CLSA, CIMB

• Q1 2014 – Lotte Shopping REIT (South Korea) Up to US$1bn SGX REIT IPO. DBS, GS, Nomura, StanChart

• H1 2014 – Malakoff Corp (Malaysia) Up to US$1bn IPO. CIMB, CS, JPM, Maybank, BofA Merrill, DB, HSBC, MS, Nomura, RHB

• H1 2014 – China Grand Automotive Services (China) US$500m–$1bn SEHK IPO. CICC, GS

• H1 2014 – Jasmine International Infrastructure Trust (Thailand) US$1.6bn–$2.2bn business trust IPO. Bualuang, MS

• H1 2014 – Shanghui International Holdings (China) US$5bn SEHK IPO. BOCI, Citic, GS, MS, StanChart, UBS

• H1 2014 – Icon Offshore (Malaysia) Up to US$300m IPO. BNP, CS, Maybank

• 2014 – Japan Display (Japan) US$2bn IPO.

• 2014 – Sunshine100 Real Estate Group (China) US$300m IPO. CICC, Citi

• 2014 – Sincere Group (China) Up to US$350m SEHK IPO. MS

• 2014 – Jinhui China (China) Up to US$400m SEHK IPO. BofA Merrill

• 2014 – Golden Mountain (China) Up to US$200m SEHK IPO. Citi

• 2014 – Jinhua Concrete Pile Group (China) Up to US$200m SEHK IPO. Citic, MS, StanChart

• 2014 – Asia Potash Group (Laos) US$500m SEHK IPO. BofA Merrill, Citi, DB

• 2014 – Triplex (China) Up to US$200m SEHK IPO. BofA Merrill, CMS, GS

• 2014 – Harbin Bank (China) US$1bn SEHK IPO. ABCI, BOCI, CICC, CMS

• 2014 – Bangkok Airways (Thailand) US$200m–$300m IPO. Bualuang, Citi, CS, DBS

• 2014 – Fuhua Agricultural Technology (China) Up to US$200m SEHK IPO. Citi, Jefferies

• 2014 – ACB India (India) US$150m IPO. Edelweiss, IDFC, JPM, Macquarie, Axis, ICICI, Yes

• 2014 – Mando China (China) US$250m SEHK IPO. DB, MS

• 2014 – Mytrah Energy Trust (India) US$400m–$500m SGX business trust IPO. MS, StanChart

• 2014 – South Beauty (China) Up to US$200m SEHK IPO. CICC, DB, UBS

• 2014 – Century Energy (China) US$150m SEHK IPO. BNPP, ICBCI, MS

• 2014 – Golden Bridge United Financial Leasing (China) Up to US$300m SEHK IPO. BoCom, JPM

• 2014 – China Railway Material (China) Up to US$2bn A/H IPO. CICC, Citic Securities, UBS, Citi, CS, HSBC

• 2014 – Rashtriya Ispat Nigam (India) Around US$450m IPO. Deutsche, UBS

• 2014 – Altain Khuder (Mongolia) US$300m SEHK IPO. BofA Merrill, Macquarie

• 2014 – Hankook Silicon (South Korea) Up to US$371m IPO. Daewoo, Daishin, Woori

• 2014 – China Shipping Nauticgreen (China) Up to US$190m SEHK IPO. DB, CMS

• 2014 – Cathay Industrial Biotech (China) Up to US$100m Nasdaq IPO. DB, Jefferies, MS

• 2014 – Zhong Da Mining (China) Up to US$350m SEHK IPO. CCBI, HSBC, UBS

• 2014 – Tianhe Chemicals Group (China) Up to US$1bn SEHK IPO. BofA Merrill, Citi, JPM, MS

• 2014 – Hunan Zhonghe Energy (China) Up to US$600m SEHK IPO. Citi, CS

• 2014 – Longjiang Bank (China) Up to US$500m HK IPO. BofA Merrill, Nomura

• 2014 – Harita Jayaraya (Indonesia) US$250m SGX IPO. Citi, DBS, CICC

• 2014 – 360buy.com (China) Up to US$3bn US IPO

• 2014 – Newmont Nusa Tenggara (Indonesia) US$500m IPO. BNP, UBS

• 2014 – The Basic House Global (China) US$200m–$300m SEHK IPO. GS, UBS

• 2014 – Sembawang E&C (Singapore) US$150m IPO. CIMB, Nomura, StanChart

• 2014 – China Network Systems (Taiwan) US$1bn SGX business trust IPO. Citi, DBS, GS, MS, StanChart

• 2014 – Bank of Shanghai (China) US$2bn A/H IPO. Guotai Junan, Citic, GS Gao Hua; ICBCI, JPM, MS, UBS

• 2014 – China Guangfa Bank (China) US$5bn A/H IPO.BofA Merrill, Citi, DB, GS, CS, Macquarie; Citic, Guangfa, GS GaoHua, Haitong, Yingda

• 2014 – LG Siltron (South Korea) Up to US$450m IPO. Tong Yang, UBS, Woori

• 2014 – Posh Semco (Singapore) US$300m IPO. BofA Merrill, DBS, OCBC

• 2014 – Hyundai Oilbank (South Korea) Up to US$2bn IPO. Citi, Woori, BofA Merrill, Daewoo, Hana Daetoo, Shinhan

• 2014 – NW Hotel Investments (Hong Kong) US$800m SEHK IPO. DB, HSBC, JPM, BOCI, StanChart

• 2014 – Dyviacom Intrabumi (Indonesia) US$300m–$500m re-IPO. DB, CIMB, CS, Buana

• 2014 – Indonesia Air Asia (Indonesia) US$200m IPO.CIMB, CS

• 2014 – ILFS (India) US$400m SGX business trust IPO. DB, JPM, Nomura, CIMB

• 2014 – Iskander Waterfront (Malaysia) Around US$300m IPO. CIMB, DB, JPM, RHB

• 2014 – SMC Global Power Holdings (Philippines) Ps27.3bn (US$619m). CIMB, StanChart, UBS, ATR Kim Eng, SB Capital

• 2014 – China National Biotec Group (China) Up to US$2bn SEHK IPO. CICC, MS, UBS

• 2014 – Energy Australia (Australia) US$3bn IPO. BofA Merrill, Deutsche, UBS

• 2014 – Blue Bird Taxi (Indonesia) Up to US$320m IPO. CS, Danareksa, UBS, CIMB

Joint book Goldman Sachs and JP Morgan launched a top-up placement for Cosco Pacific.

Joint book Goldman Sachs and JP Morgan launched a top-up placement for Cosco Pacific. The deal comprises 387.5m shares at HK$10.40–$10.96 apiece to raise up to HK$4.25bn (US$545.9m). The price range represents a 5%–9.9% discount to pre-deal spot. There is a 90-day lock-up on the company. The company closed flat at HK$11.54 today.

 

Sole book Morgan Stanley launched a share placement for United Laboratories at market close. The deal comprises 100m shares (50% primary/ 50% secondary) at HK$8.38–$8.58 apiece to raise up to HK$858m (US$110.3m). The price range represents a 6.8%–9% discount to pre-deal spot. Heren Far East is the vendor. There is a 90-day lock-up on the company and the vendor. The company fell 4.76% to close at HK$9.21 today.

 

Bumi Armada, a shipping company owned by tycoon Ananda Krishnan, is rumoured to have hired CIMB, CLSA, Credit Suisse, Maybank and RHB to manage its US$400m–$450m IPO. Another domestic bank may also be added. The issuer wants to do the deal before August, but internal restructuring may delay it. One ECM banker said: "With this group, you're not mandated until you've actually done the deal."

 

UBS has launched an up to Ps4.6bn (US$103m) accelerated top-up placement for Metropolitan Bank & Trust. It is offering 93.1m shares at Ps48.00–Ps49.50 apiece, a 10%–12.7% discount to the April 29 close of Ps55.00 per share. Federal Homes, Global Treasure Holdings, Philippine Securities and GT Capital Holdings are the vendors. There is a 180-day lock-up on the vendors. UBS is sole bookrunner.

 

Philippine shopping centre developer SM Prime has appointed CLSA and Macquarie as advisers to its proposed US$500m REIT issue. JP Morgan is advising Ayala Land and Citi is advising Robinsons Land on their planned REIT offerings, which will be around US$300m in size. The REIT law should come into effect in the next two weeks.

 

Joint leads BofA Merrill Lynch and RBS have launched an up to US$850m zero coupon CBs due 2030 for QBE Funding V. The CB is puttable by holders on May 12 2013, 2015, 2017, 2020 and 2025. The yield to final redemption is 2%–2.5% and initial conversion premium is 30% over the reference price of A$21.20 (equivalent to US$19.57 which is the April 29 close). Proceeds will be used to redeem so-called Lyons IV (liquid yield option securities) convertible securities which will redeemed by QBE Funding Trust IV on May 17. The deal, guaranteed by QBE Insurance Group, has the same structure as the Lyons deal done in 2007. Yield is likely to be set at the top end. The issuer is rated A3/A (Moody's;S&P). The credit spread is 100bp over Libor and bond floor works to 97.5–99 with implied vol about 18–23. The 100-day vol is around 25.

 

 

Fubon Financial has set a long-term fundraising plan for the year. The company is looking to raise up to NT$35bn (US$1.1bn) through equity raising. It is considering raising funds through domestic or overseas convertible bonds, share placement or GDR issuance. The company may opt for one or more of the above fundraising channels. If the company goes for a CB, the issue amount would not exceed US$1.1bn. Apart from selling shares, the company is also looking at a NT$10bn bond issue. The fundraising plan may or may not be materialised, depending on the company's funding needs.

 

Hong Kong and Nasdaq-listed City Telecom has completed its ADR follow-on. The base deal comprised 3.5m ADSs and there was a 15% greenshoe. The greenshoe was fully exercised, boosting the deal size to 4.025m ADSs. The deal priced at US$13 apiece to raise US$52.3m. Proceeds will be used to launch the company's new domestic free television programme services in Hong Kong and for general corporate purposes. Oppenheimer and Roth Capital Partners led the transaction.

 

Ji Hua Group has obtained the CSRC approval on its Rmb3.25bn (US$464m) A-share IPO. The company is planning to sell 1.157bn shares, or 30% of its enlarged capital base. UBS Securities is leading the transaction.  

 

Two companies – O-Net Communications and Sijia Group – started trading on the Hong Kong bourse today and both made decent debuts. O-Net ended the day 37.6% above its IPO price while Sijia closed 12% above its issue price. Sijia raised HK$656m (US$84.3m) via Piper Jaffray. O-Net raised HK$560.5m (US$72m) via CLSA.

 

Miner Atlas Iron will raise A$63.5m (US$58.8m) through a placement to international and domestic institutional shareholders. Hartleys is managing the placement, which was heavily oversubscribed. The company will issue 25.5m shares at A$2.49 apiece, a 7.4% discount to the April 23 close. The placement is expected to be completed on May 7. Proceeds will be used to accumulate an ore stockpile ahead of the start of exports from its Utah Port facility in Port Hedland.

 

The book is covered on nursing college operator Masterskill's up to M$779m (US$243m) IPO. Pricing is scheduled for May 4. CIMB and Goldman Sachs are joint global coordinators and bookrunners.

 

Bank Internasional Indonesia's Rp1.407trn (US$156m) rights issue was 0.3% oversubscribed. Maybank, which holds a 97.52% stake in BII, took up its full rights and acted as standby buyer, but did not have to take up any excess rights shares. Around 6.25bn shares were offered at a price of Rp225 per share. The shares closed at Rp305 apiece on April 28. Mandiri Sekuritas managed the offering.

Agricultural Bank of China held a kick-off meeting for its US$20bn-plus A/H IPO in Beijing today.

Agricultural Bank of China held a kick-off meeting for its US$20bn-plus A/H IPO in Beijing today. According to sources, the fundraising size has not been determined as yet but the deal could come as early as July. The lender has mandated CICC, CAF Securities, Deutsche Bank, Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan, Macquarie and Morgan Stanley as bookrunners for the H-share IPO and CICC, Citic Securities, Galaxy Securities and Guotai Junan Securities as leads for the A-share IPO.

 

Sijia Group has fixed the offer price for its Hong Kong IPO at HK$3.28 apiece, in the upper end of the marketed HK$2.69–$3.38 range. The deal comprises 200m new shares to raise HK$656m (US$84.3m). Hong Kong public offer will start tomorrow. Piper Jaffray is the bookrunner. Sijia is principally engaged in the design, development, manufacture and sale of polymer processed high strength polyester fabric composite materials.

 

Only 18% of the holders of Country Garden's RMB4.3bn US dollar settled 2.5% CBs due 2013 have tendered back their bonds to the company under a buyback offer. The company received only tenders worth RMB781m and it said in a press release it was pleased with the response. The company offered bondholders about 111 and some rival bankers thought the price was low and that's why response was not that great. "I can't think of many exams where the pass mark is 18.1%," said one banker.

 

At launch, the bonds were trading at 108.5 and the accreted value of the bonds or the value of the bonds after adding the interest payments from issue to April 7 was 108.25. Bondholders would have got paid 111.997 if they had held the bonds until put which was up in a year. One banker argued that the fact that few bonds were tendered also showed that investors who had not tendered had the confidence of getting paid when the put date came up.

 

GMR Infrastructure has launched an up to US$250m QIP. Bank of America Merrill Lynch is the sole global coordinator and bookrunning lead manager. Other lead managers are Axis Bank, ICICI Securities, IDBI Capital Market Services. The indicative price is Rs62.20 close to the Sebi floor price of Rs62.13. The close today was Rs63.85 on BSE.

 

Hong Kong and Nasdaq-listed City Telecom launched an ADR follow-on today. The deal comprises 3.5m shares and a 15% greenshoe. Based on the company's last closing price of US$15.23 apiece in the US, the deal could raise US$53m. Proceeds will be used to launch the company's new domestic free television program services in Hong Kong and for general corporate purposes. Oppenheimer and Roth Capital Partners are leading the transaction.

 

Shanghai-listed Industrial Bank has received the CSRC approval to raise Rmb18bn (US$2.64bn) by selling rights shares on a two-for-10 basis. Proceeds will replenish the bank's core capital, boosting its core capital adequacy ratio to more than 10%.

 

Shanghai-listed Hua Xia Bank went into trading halt yesterday. Rumours are that the lender is looking to raise up to Rmb20bn (US$2.93bn) through a private placement to raise its capital adequacy ratio. Deutsche Bank, Shougang Corporation and the State Grid, the three largest shareholders of Hua Xia Bank, are expected to participate in the placement.

 

Shenzhen-listed Hubei Yihua Chemical Industry is looking to raise Rmb2.5bn (US$366m) through a private placement by selling up to 150m shares at not less than Rmb18.51 apiece. Parent Yihua Group has committed to subscribe to 16% of the deal. Of the funds raised, Rmb2bn will be used for project development while Rmb500m for bank loans repayment.

 

SGX-listed UNITED Envirotech, which provides membrane-based water and wastewater treatment services in China, is looking at a dual listing in Taiwan by selling TDRs. The TDR issuance will represent 10% of the company's enlarged share capital. It has mandated Polaris Securities on the deal.

 

Citic Securities, China's largest brokerage by market value, and Credit Agricole SA's Asian brokerage affiliate are in talks to create a venture in the region, according to a mainland newspaper. CLSA is expected to be part of the combined entity.

 

Taihan Electric Wire, which manufactures power and communications cables, has set the price for its follow-on offering at W10,750 per share to raise W184bn (US166m). The price was calculated as a 20% discount to the three-day VWAP to April 14 and was lower than the expected price of W13,650 per share given in the offering circular. The deal size is equivalent to 30% of existing company capital. The company's shares lost 3.4% today to close at W12,850. Subscription runs from April 19–20 and settlement is on April 22. The new shares will list on May 3. Daewoo Securities, Hana Daetoo and Tong Yang are lead managers.

 

The April 14 selldown by the Beneficial Trust Fund of PLDT in Metro Pacific Investment Corporation was partially upsized to 1.4bn shares from the base deal size of 1.1bn shares, equivalent to around 7% of company capital. This gives a final deal size of Ps4.2bn (US$95m), based on the fixed price of Ps3.00 per share, a 3.2% discount to the April 14 close. More than 20 accounts took part. There was demand from Philippine, Asian, UK and US investors. Allocations went principally to long-only investors but there was some hedge fund participation. CLSA was sole bookrunner. Metro Pacific Investment Corporation holds investments in water, tollroads and healthcare companies.

 

Developer Ayala Land is looking to raise US$300m from a REIT, once the country's laws on the asset class are finalised. It has hired JP Morgan and BPI Capital as advisers. Robinson Land is rumoured to have hired Citi as an adviser.

 

Telekomunikasi Indonesia said it will transfer around 9,000 telecom towers from its mobile subsidiary Telkomsel to its infrastructure unit Dayamitra Telekomunikasi (Mitratel). The move needs to happen because Singtel owns a 35% stake in Telkomsel and foreign firms are not allowed to own Indonesian telecoms infrastructure. Telkom's president director Rinaldi Firmansyah told local media that Macquarie is advising on the sale of the towers. After the sale, Telkom plans to launch an IPO for Mitratel, though it is not expected in the near future.

 

Philippine conglomerate San Miguel is seeking shareholder approval to allow the management to issue new shares without attendant pre-emptive rights for existing shareholders. The board is also seeking approval to sell down more than 51% of the company's stakes in its core businesses. The votes will be held in May.

 

Shares in vegetable processor China Minzhong Food opened at S$1.20 per share on its trading debut, flat to its IPO price. It closed at S$1.12, down 6.7%.

 

System integrator CSE Global yesterday raised S$39.2m (US$28.5m) from a placement of 35m treasury shares, equivalent to 7.36% of existing issued shares. The price of S$1.12 per share is a 5.9% discount to the last traded price of S$1.19. Around 65% of the book went to long-only investors, 18% to hedge funds, 11% to private bank clients and the remainder to retail. Singaporean investors accounted for 75% of the allocations, with Hong Kong investors taking 25%, Europe 5% and others 5%. CIMB was placement agent.

 

Citi announced the appointment of Ravi Kapoor as the new head of global banking India. In this role, Kapoor will report to Pramit Jhaveri, Citi country officer, India, and Farhan Faruqui, head of global banking, Asia Pacific. The appointment is effective immediately.

 

Nathan McMurtray who was announced as joining Citi in March has taken up the job of head of Asia equity-linked at Standard Chartered. He started work on Monday. Mcmurtray joined from Standard Bank in Hong Kong where he was head of Asia equity-linked origination. Prior to this he was at Morgan Stanley from 2000–2009.

Masterskill to list on Main Market

Masterskill (M) Education Group Bhd, which had put on hold twice its plans to sell shares, is expected to raise some RM800 million

Masterskill (M) Education Group Bhd, Southeast Asia's largest nursing and healthcare college operator, is finally listing on the Main Market of Bursa Malaysia next month, after putting on hold twice its plans to sell shares.

According to a company source, the initial public offering (IPO) is expected to raise some RM800 million.

In its draft prospectus on the Securities Commission website, it is stated that the IPO will involve an offer for sale of 164 million existing shares and a public issue of 41 million new shares.

This means that Masterskill will only raise about RM164 million from the IPO, while the rest will go to the shareholders involved in the offer for sale.

The draft prospectus did not provide the IPO price as the group will ask for bids from institutional investors first before fixing the final price.

However, sources indicate that it could be around RM4 a share and the listing is slated for sometime next month.

Masterskill will be the country's first health science college to be listed on the local bourse.

"In February, the group was ranked first in Malaysia among all providers of nursing education in terms of student enrolment, with an estimated market share of 16 per cent," Masterskill said in its draft prospectus.

Masterskill had twice postponed the IPO: in the first quarter of 2008 and then in November the same year as market conditions were not suitable for the exercise.

It has hired CIMB Investment Bank Bhd and Goldman Sachs to help arrange the IPO.

Masterskill plans to use proceeds from the IPO to set up a nursing and medical campus in Johor in addition to nursing universities in Sabah, Sarawak and overseas.

Masterskill was set up as a company in 1997. It operated as a college in 2004 and as a university college in 2008.

Its revenue and net profit have been growing steadily since 2007 as more students enrol for its nursing and health programmes.

Last year, it had 17,165 students, up 27 per cent from the number in 2008.

In the fiscal year ended December 31 2009, Masterskill achieved net profit of RM97 million on revenue of RM273 million.

State-owned Korea Deposit Insurance Corporation sold down a 9% stake in Woori Finance

State-owned Korea Deposit Insurance Corporation sold down a 9% stake in Woori Finance, the holding company for the country's second largest bank, after market close on April 8 to raise W1.16trn (US$1.03bn). The deal was done flat to the closing share price of W16,000, the top of the W15,400–W16,000 guidance range. The base deal size was 56.4m shares, equivalent to a 7% stake, but it was increased on strong demand. Domestic accounts took 45% of the deal, with international investors taking 55%, most of which went to Asian accounts. The demand was put down to indications by the government that this would be the last selldown in Woori Finance before a majority stake is sold to a strategic investor. Credit Suisse, Daewoo, Samsung and UBS were bookrunners. Woori Finance shares closed at W16,650 today.

 

Sijia Group, which abandoned its listing plan in February, is returning to the market with a 18% cut in fundraising size. The company launched roadshows yesterday by selling 200m new shares at HK$2.69–$3.38 apiece to raise up to HK$676m (US$87m). The price range represents a 2010 P/E of 7–8.8 times. The deal will price on April 19. Piper Jaffray is the bookrunner. Sijia is principally engaged in the design, development, manufacture and sale of polymer processed high strength polyester fabric composite materials.

 

Tian Yuan Mining is rumoured to be looking to start premarketing its US$300m–$400m Hong Kong IPO early next week. Sources, however, said the timetable has not been fixed as yet. Citigroup is the sole bookrunner.

 

Sole bookrunner Morgan Stanley completed a HK$777m (US$100m) selldown in Intime Department Store yesterday. Warburg Pincus was the vendor. The deal comprised 105m shares at HK$7.33–$7.66 apiece, representing a 6%–10% discount to pre-deal spot. The deal finally priced at HK$7.40, a 9.2% discount to pre-deal spot. There were about 50 investors in the book, with demand mainly from Asia. The company fell 5.6% to close at HK$7.69 today.

 

The board of Chunghwa Picture Tubes has approved the company's plan to issue up to 1bn new shares in the form of GDRs to raise about NT$10bn (US$317m). Of the shares on offer, 10%–15% will be sold to the company's staff. Proceeds will replenish capital, purchase overseas materials and machinery and repay bank loans. CPT is also planning to raise up to NT$20bn by selling not more than 2bn shares through a private share placement or a private convertible bond.

Meanwhile, the company plans to reduce its capital by 60.59%, or 9.99bn shares, on losses it posted last year. It made a huge net loss of NT$38bn last year as the global financial crisis hurt products demand. After the capital reduction, the company's capital will be at NT$64.97bn. The proposed reduction plan is pending shareholder approval on May 20.

 

The S$170m (US$122m) SGX IPO of electronics and furniture retailer Courts Asia is on hold. It lodged its preliminary prospectus on March 12. Macquarie is sole global coordinator. OCBC is coordinator for the public offer. CLSA, Macquarie and RBS are joint bookrunners and also joint underwriters with DMG & Partners Securities and OCBC.

 

Yamaha Motor, the bike manufacturer, will price its follow-on between April 13 and 16. The allocation for the ¥77bn (US$821m) deal is now planned at 80% for retail investors and 20% for institutions. However, around half of Yamaha's shareholders are overseas investors, and the domestic only deal is said to be attracting strong interest from international short and long funds. Since the deal was launched, the share price has dropped 10.5% to close today at ¥1,267. Nomura is bookrunner.