MAINLAND carmaker BAIC Motor Corp., which is partly owned by German automotive group Daimler AG, has hired four banks for a Hong Kong initial public offering (IPO) worth up to US$2 billion.

    The firm has hired HSBC, CITIC Securities International, Deutsche Bank and UBS AG, according to a prospectus filed with the Hong Kong stock exchange.

    BAIC submitted its draft listing prospectus to the Hong Kong exchange Wednesday, in the first step to getting listing approval from the exchange. The firm will be listing in the city as early as the third quarter if it gets approval.

    Funds raised from the IPO will go toward part of its US$5.4 billion expansion plan, announced late last year, and comes as China’s rising demand for luxury cars lifts BAIC Motor’s sales.

    In the first five months of the year, China sold 9.84 million vehicles, up 9 percent from a year earlier, according to the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers.

    China’s passenger vehicle market is the world’s largest and is growing at 14.8 percent a year. Last year, 17.9 million units were sold, up from 10 million in 2009, according to All China Marketing Research.

    BAIC Motor is the passenger car unit of Beijing Automotive Group. In November, high-end German automaker Daimler sealed a deal to buy a 12 percent stake in BAIC Motor for 625 million euros (US$853.7 million) to boost its China presence and secure a foothold before the long-expected IPO.

    BAIC also has a joint venture with South Korea’s Hyundai Motor Co. (SD-Agencies)