Central China Securities plans US$300m IPO

    DOMESTIC brokerage Central China Securities has started a pre-marketing process for a US$300 million initial public listing in Hong Kong in a month’s time, Shanghai Securities News reported yesterday, citing an unidentified company source.

    The paper said Central China Securities is working with China Galaxy International, as well as other banks, to arrange joint underwriting for the offering. The brokerage, based in Henan Province, reported a net profit of 260 million yuan (US$41.6 million) in 2013 and had total assets of 12.94 billion yuan as of the end of last year.

    BNY Mellon sells stake in fund firm

    BNY Mellon is selling its stake in its joint venture fund management company in China, as the wealth management market in the country becomes increasingly competitive amid a changing regulatory landscape.

    Shareholders of BNY Mellon Western Fund Management Co., a joint venture between BNY Mellon and Shenzhen-listed brokerage Western Securities, have approved a share sale agreement that lets BNY Mellon sell its 49 percent stake in the joint venture to Chinese asset manager Shanghai Leadbank Asset Management Co. The deal is subject to approvals from relevant government agencies.

    PetroChina parent to invest in Peru

    CHINA National Petroleum Corp. (CNPC), parent of PetroChina Co., expects to invest at least US$2 billion in Peru over the next 10 years, after having recently bought Petrobras’ assets in the country, a top CNPC executive said yesterday.

    “We are looking for more opportunities in Peru to acquire companies or to participate in the bidding of oil fields,” said Gong Bencai, head of CNPC’s Latin America division. Peru has already approved an environmental permit allowing CNPC to conduct US$1 billion in exploratory work in a natural gas block purchased from Brazilian state-run oil company Petrobras.

    China State Construction to sell shares

    CHINA State Construction Engineering Corp., the nation’s biggest builder, plans to raise 30 billion yuan (US$4.8 billion) in a sale of preferred stock to bolster working capital.

    The Shanghai-listed company will sell as many as 300 million preferred shares in a private placement. The sale, which needs shareholder and regulatory approvals, will be the largest such offering in China by a non-bank company.