Longmei to list on Hong Kong Stock Exchange
China's northeastern Heilongjiang province-based Longmei Mining Company will carry out an initial public offering (IPO) on the
Hong Kong Stock Exchange in the first half of 2006.
The company has already brought on board South Korean steel giant Posco and Japanese
trading company Itochu Corporation as the strategic investors for its planned IPO.
Longmei Mining hopes to raise more than HK$2 billion ($256 million) by listing around 44 percent of the company during the IPO. The state will retain 51 percent of the company shares.
The company was formed last December through the merger of four state-owned coal companies – Jixi, Hegang, Shuangyashan and Qitaihe. Each of these four coal companies has an annual
production capacity in excess of 10 million tons, and the new conglomerate is able to produce more than 50 million tons per annum.
Longmei, which produced 27 million tons of coal in the first half of this year, aims to increase annual
production to 100 million tons by 2010.
The mining company is a major coal supplier for the Liaoning-based Anben Steel Group Company (formed through the merger of Anshan Iron & Steel Group and Benxi Steel in August) and Jilin based Jilin Chemical Industrial Company.