SHANGHAI (AFP) — China Railway Construction, the firm that built part of the controversial train line to Tibet, said Tuesday it has postponed share listing plans that could raise up to 4.0 billion dollars.
The state firm, one of the nation's largest road and rail contractors, was preparing to launch a road show and sales bookings for its initial public offering in Shanghai and Hong Kong but never received final clearance.
"We never received the final approval notice from the securities regulator," said Li Tingzhu, an official with China Railway's secretarial board.
Li said the regulator had given no explanation for the derailment of their plan but bourse conditions have been particularly weak in the wake of worries about the US economy and the worst winter weather to hit China in decades.
"They gave us no reason and didn't tell us when they will give it to us, but we hope that after the Spring Festival we will quickly receive approval," said Li, referring to the Lunar New Year holiday that begins Wednesday.
The builders of the Qinghai-Tibetan railroad, and parts of the Shanghai magnetic levitation rail line, won regulatory approval last month for the dual IPO, and was widely expected to list in the first half of February.
The largest contractor involved in the construction of the long-delayed Beijing-Shanghai high-speed railway, outlined in an early prospectus that it aimed to sell 2.8 billion shares in Shanghai and 1.8 billion in Hong Kong.
An over-allotment option, if exercised, could bring Hong Kong shares to 2.07 billion shares, it said.
Proceeds were to go to construction equipment, railway lines, a property project, loan repayment as well as investment in a cement plant in Nigeria and other overseas projects.
The share sale that could raise 20 billion yuan (2.7 billion dollars) and 10.35 billion Hong Kong dollars (1.3 billion dollars) was expected to take place in early February, according to previous state press reports.
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