Repatriation of overseas IPO proceeds eased

    CHINESE companies no longer need approval from the nation’s foreign exchange regulator to repatriate money raised in overseas share sales.

    China scrapped a number of approvals by government agencies, according to a State Council statement posted on the Central Government website yesterday that was dated Oct. 23. Making it easier for companies to send proceeds back home may encourage more overseas listings, easing the backlog of applications for domestic initial public offerings. The China Securities Regulatory Commission has yet to process 603 companies’ applications, more than five times the number of completed deals this year, according to data from the regulator’s website.

    Dalian Wanda plans more than 150 hotels

    DOMESTIC property developer Dalian Wanda Group plans to build more than 150 premium hotels around the world by 2018 in an expansion of its luxury hotel business, Xinhua said Sunday.

    The announcement comes as Dalian Wanda Commercial Properties, a subsidiary of Dalian Wanda Group, plans to raise up to US$6 billion in a Hong Kong initial public offering this year. The targeted overseas markets for the new hotels include Europe, the United States and Australia, Xinhua said.

    BAIC Motor to seek HK IPO approval

    MAINLAND automaker BAIC Motor, partly owned by Germany’s Daimler AG, will seek approval from Hong Kong’s stock exchange Thursday for a planned initial public offering (IPO) worth up to US$1.5 billion, IFR reported yesterday.

    BAIC is set to start gauging investor interest for the share sale Dec. 1, if it gets clearance from the exchange’s listing committee, according to IFR, a Thomson Reuters publication. The IPO roadshow would start Dec. 8, with pricing slated for Dec. 12.

    BesTV, Shanghai Oriental surge on merger

    BESTV New Media Co. and Shanghai Oriental Pearl Group yesterday surged in Shanghai trading after saying they would merge in the latest sign the Shanghai city government is pushing ahead with reforms of State-owned firms involved in media.

    BesTV, a Chinese partner of Microsoft Corp. that is acquiring Shanghai Oriental Pearl, jumped the daily limit of 10 percent. Shanghai Oriental Pearl, which operates a television tower in Shanghai’s financial district, gained 9.98 percent. Both companies are units of Shanghai Media Group, which operates the city’s main TV stations.