World Bank plans SDR bond sale next week

    THE World Bank plans to issue bonds denominated in the International Monetary Fund’s Special Drawing Rights (SDR) next week, the world’s first such sale in three decades, sources said.

    The notes will price Aug. 31 in China’s interbank market, the sources said. The first batch of issuance will be a three-year security with a face value of 500 million SDR units (US$701.7 million), according to one of the sources. Any new SDR-denominated bond issuance would be the first since the 1980s, according to the International Monetary Fund.

    Wanda Commercial eyes IPO or backdoor listing

    CHINA’S richest man, Wang Jianlin, said Tuesday that Dalian Wanda Commercial Properties Co., the real estate flagship of his Wanda empire, would relist on the Shanghai Stock Exchange either through an initial public offering (IPO) or a backdoor listing.

    Approval for an IPO could take two or three years, while a backdoor listing would require more than a year, Wang said. Shareholders of the Hong Kong-listed real estate firm last week approved a buyout offer that would see the firm privatized. The company said earlier this month it planned to delist from the Hong Kong stock exchange Sept. 20.

    Cofco unit mulls sale of Coca-Cola assets

    A UNIT of China’s Cofco Corp., the country’s biggest food company, is considering selling its Coca-Cola bottling assets, a move that would reshape its near duopoly on the Chinese mainland with Swire Pacific Ltd. since the U.S. beverage giant began to refranchise its bottling operations.

    The unit, China Foods Ltd., is exploring a sale of its stakes in 10 Coca-Cola bottling companies in the country through a public tender. The company will sell stakes varying from 7.15 percent to 100 percent through the China Beijing Equity Exchange. Half of the bottling facilities listed for sale are joint ventures with Swire Pacific. No value was given.

    Anbang plans IPO for life insurance unit

    ANBANG Insurance is planning an initial public offering of its life insurance unit, The Wall Street Journal reported yesterday.

    The Beijing-based insurer has in recent weeks had discussions with investment banks about an IPO of Anbang Life Insurance Co., the newspaper quoted sources as saying. The unit could list by the middle of next year in Hong Kong.