Chinese developer Shui On Land will relaunch its Hong Kong IPO in the coming week, cutting its size by at least a third to US $500-$550 million after a weak stock market delayed the deal in June, a newspaper reported on Saturday.
The company, headed by Hong Kong property tycoon Vincent Lo, would cut the number and the price of the shares on offer, the South China Morning Post said, quoting unidentified sources.
Shui On Land had planned to offer 1.055 billion shares at HK$5.60 to HK$7.55 - about a quarter of the firm's enlarged share capital - but called off the sale on June 15 because of weak demand.
Beijing unveiled in May a raft of new measures to cool the country's housing market and encourage building of inexpensive mass housing, hurting confidence in Chinese property developers. But shares in Chinese developers have recovered in the last couple of months, with investors believing that big, well capitalised firms can grow at the expense of weaker rivals and still profit from an insatiable thirst for new homes among the emerging middle class.
Shares in China Vanke Co Ltd have risen 22 percent in the last month and Shanghai Forte Land Co Ltd is up nearly 14 percent. Shares in Shanghai developer Shimao, have leapt almost 40 percent since its IPO in late June.
The company, will begin pre-marketing the initial public offering next week, with a formal roadshow starting on September 18, and the share price set on September 27, the report said. The firm's stock market debut would be on October 3 or October 4.
Shui On Land, which turned a cluster of shabby century-old houses in Shanghai into the trendy Xintiandi bar and dining area, counts Citigroup Venture Capital, Standard Chartered and Germany's Ergo Tru Asia Ltd among its shareholders. HSBC Holdings had planned to buy a $100 million stake in the company in the IPO.
Hong Kong-listed Shui On Construction and Materials Ltd owns 29.3 percent of Shui On Land. As well as ongoing apartment and office projects in Shanghai, the firm is spending a combined 5.7 billion yuan ($717 million) on land in Chongqing and Wuhan for mixed-use development.