Share sale proceeds double

    CHINESE companies have almost doubled their proceeds from share issues in initial public offerings and secondary markets after favorable policy winds from the government stoked massive stock market rallies in Hong Kong and on the mainland.

    New share issues by companies on the mainland and in Hong Kong totaled US$63 billion so far this year, almost doubling from the US$34.5 billion in proceeds a year earlier. The surge in share issues has been driven by financial firms, whose fundraising in the stock market has increased more than 600 percent to US$23.5 billion in the first half of this year from US$3.3 billion a year earlier.

    New China Life Insurance buys Franshion shares

    NEW China Life Insurance Co. is buying HK$2.78 billion (US$359 million) worth of newly issued shares in Chinese property developer Franshion Properties (China) Ltd.

    Franshion is an “attractive investment” given its recent performance and plans for development, said New China Life in a statement. The new shares represent 9.5 percent of Franshion’s share capital. At HK$2.73 each, the new shares are issued at a 9.9 percent discount to the company’s last closing price. Franshion had total assets of HK$138.03 billion in 2014, up 14 percent year on year.

    CPIC to invest in China Railway’s preference shares

    CHINA Pacific Insurance (Group) Co. (CPIC) has agreed to invest 32 billion yuan (US$5.2 billion) in the preference shares issued by China Railway Development Fund Co.

    The 15-year preference shares will receive an annual income and help CPIC “broaden the investment channels of insurance capital, optimize asset allocation and enhance long-term investment income,” the insurer said yesterday. The investment represents 40.9 percent of China Railway Development Fund’s total preference shares. The fund was established in 2014 and the latest infusion will take its registered capital to 188 billion yuan.

    Didi Kuaidi seeks US$1b-US$1.5b in funds

    CHINESE ride-hailing app Didi Kuaidi Joint Co. is in discussions to raise more than US$1 billion from investors to boost its warchest, as it battles for Chinese riders with Uber Technologies Inc., according to people familiar with the situation.

    Didi Kuaidi has been canvassing potential investors across the globe in recent weeks and is hoping to set terms with investors by the end of this month to raise between US$1 billion and US$1.5 billion, according to one of the sources.