CHINA International Capital Corp. (CICC), the country’s first investment bank, is preparing for an initial public offering (IPO) in Hong Kong, people familiar with the situation said Friday.

    The investment bank has invited ABC International Holdings Ltd. and CCB International (Holdings) Ltd. as joint sponsors for its potential listing, Bloomberg quoted the sources as saying.

    But MarketWatch said bankers will meet the management of CICC in the coming weeks and then CICC will select banks that can handle the share sale.

    The planned share sale will value Beijing-based CICC at more than US$3 billion, Bloomberg quoted the sources as saying, adding that the firm plans to start its IPO as early as in the fourth quarter.

    CICC was set up in 1995 by Morgan Stanley with China Construction Bank Corp., a pioneering move at the time. The firm ranks seventh among underwriters of initial share sales in Hong Kong this year.

    But after disputes emerged with the venture’s management over personnel, the firm’s culture and its dealings with other foreign banks, Morgan Stanley became a passive investor in CICC and sold its 34.3 percent stake in 2010.

    CICC plans to submit an application to the Hong Kong stock exchange in the next few months, Bloomberg quoted the sources as saying. A Beijing-based spokeswoman for CICC declined to comment on details of the IPO.

    CITIC Securities Co., the mainland’s largest brokerage by assets, has gained 46 percent in Hong Kong since a September 2011 first-time share sale that raised US$1.8 billion. Haitong Securities Co., the mainland’s second-biggest brokerage, has advanced 20 percent since raising US$1.8 billion in Hong Kong in April 2012.

    (SD-Agencies)