China Shipping Container Lines (CSCL) has cut its planned initial public offering by more than 25 percent to US$1.3-1.5 billion amid weak investor sentiment, sources close to the deal said on Thursday.
CSCL, the world's 10th-largest container line, and its bankers are now pitching the IPO price at about seven to nine times forecast 2004 earnings, the sources said.
The company, which had hoped to raise up to US$2 billion previously, pre-marketed the deal last week at nine to 13 times forecast 2004 earnings, according to fund managers.
China-focussed investors are worried about Beijing's efforts to slow the country's surging economy. Hong Kong's blue-chip Hang Seng Index has lost 12.5 percent in the past month, while the H-share index of China-incorporated firms listed in the territory has slipped 21 percent.
CSCL and the deal's sole global co-ordinator, BNP Paribas Peregrine, had planned to start an international roadshow for the IPO next week. But the roadshow was pushed back for a week or two as sentiment turned sour, sources told Reuters on Wednesday.