China’s No.2 shipbuilder eyes $928 mln IPO -report

China Shipbuilding Industry Corp (CSIC), the country’s second-biggest shipbuilder, is considering launching a domestic initial public offering to raise up to $928 million, state media reported on Monday.

CSIC, which controls Dalian Shipbuilding Industry Corp and some other domestic shipyards, will fold 16 units into one listing vehicle and float it either in Shanghai or Shenzhen, the Shanghai Securities News said, citing unnamed sources.

CSIC could raise between 6 billion yuan to 7 billion yuan ($795-$928 million) by issuing 1.6 billion domestic A-shares, the paper said, without giving the timetable.

Officials at the company declined to comment.

Earlier this year, China’s biggest shipbuilder, China State Shipbuilding Corp, injected shipbuilding assets into Shanghai-listed Hudong Heavy Machinery Co and renamed the firm China State Shipbuiding Co .

Several privately owned shipbuilding firms, including Jiangsu Rongsheng Heavy Industries Group and Sinopacific Shipbuilding Group, are also planning IPOs to ride an industry boom that industry executives expect to last for another 2 to 3 years.

Sinopacific plans to raise $660 million from a domestic IPO next year, while Rongsheng plans to list in China and abroad as early as 2009, senior company executives told Reuters previously.

Reuters