CHINA’S securities regulator has given the go-ahead to Shanxi Coal Industry Co. to launch a roadshow for its initial public offering (IPO) in a deal that could be the largest since the reopening of the IPO floodgate late last year.

    With final approval from the China Securities Regulatory Commission, the State-owned coal miner has cleared the last hurdle to kicking off its long-awaited IPO after a wait of more than three years.

    The commission said Friday in a statement that it had given final approval for Shanxi Coal to launch its IPO, allowing it to embark on a roadshow in the next 12 months.

    The size of the IPO remains unclear, as the company hasn’t published its prospectus on the website of its listing venue, the Shanghai Stock Exchange.

    In a preliminary prospectus released in August 2011, Shanxi Coal said it wanted to raise 17.3 billion yuan (US$2.8 billion) through offering up to 2 billion shares, or 18 percent of its enlarged capital, ahead of a listing in Shanghai.

    The proceeds would be used for building and also purchasing coal mines as well as supplementing working capital, Shanxi Coal said in the preliminary prospectus.

    Shanxi Coal produces thermal and metallurgical coal as well as coal for the petrochemical industry. The company has 17.4 billion tons of coal in place and 10.5 billion tons of recoverable reserves. Compared with listed coal miners in China, it is the third largest in terms of reserves, according to the preliminary prospectus.

    The company produced 47.15 million tons of coal in the first half of 2011, also making it the third-largest producer compared with its listed peers, it added.

    In the first half of 2011, it recorded a net profit of 2.26 billion yuan, or earnings per share of 0.50 yuan.

    The regulator has approved 16 firms to launch IPOs, including Shanxi Coal, since the restart of the IPO market Dec. 30 after a more than one-year moratorium on stock-market debuts. Among the 16, 15 smaller firms had published their IPO prospectuses with the stock exchanges and started to pitch investors from Jan. 2. (SD-Agencies)