SHUANGHUI International Holdings is gearing up to raise around US$5 billion and list in Hong Kong in what is likely to be one of the biggest initial public offerings (IPOs) in Asia this year.

    The Chinese pork producer that bought the United States’ Smithfield Foods Inc. in one of the highest-profile cross-border acquisitions last year is planning to submit an application with the Hong Kong stock exchange in the coming weeks and list in April, a source familiar with the matter said yesterday.

    A listing application is the first step toward an IPO in Hong Kong. At a fundraising size of US$5 billion, Shuanghui’s IPO would be Asia’s largest offering in two years, trailing the US$8.5 billion that Japan Airlines Co. raised in its IPO in September 2012, according data from Dealogic.

    The listing would give Shuanghui’s private equity owners an opportunity to exit their position in the company, but it is unclear whether this is their plan. Shanghai-based CDH Investments first invested in the pork producer in 2006 and remains its biggest shareholder — a rarity considering Chinese private equity firms sometimes exit their investments in as little as two years. Other shareholders of Shuanghui, which spent US$4.7 billion to purchase Smithfield, include Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and Temasek Holdings. Smithfield’s purchase of Shuanghui is the biggest-ever acquisition by a Chinese company of a U.S. asset.

    Shuanghui could use the IPO proceeds to pay down the debt it took on to acquire Smithfield, people familiar with the deal said earlier.

    Shuanghui borrowed US$4 billion in a term loan from the New York branch of Bank of China to fund the deal, while Morgan Stanley, which advised Shuanghui on the takeover, also provided US$3.9 billion in financing. (SD-Agencies)