SINOCHEM Group has invited banks to pitch for roles in a proposed Hong Kong listing of its key oil assets, which could raise about US$2 billion, IFR reported yesterday, citing three people with knowledge of the matter. The planned initial public offering (IPO) for the State-owned group’s energy unit will likely include its oil refining, oil trading, storage and logistics, as well as distribution and retail businesses, said IFR, a Thomson Reuters publication. A valuation for the energy unit was not immediately available. The float comes amid a push by the government to inject new life into bloated State-owned firms by encouraging private capital investment in the firms. Representatives for Sinochem did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Last October, Reuters reported that Sinochem had hired BOC International, CLSA and Morgan Stanley to work on a possible Hong Kong listing of its key oil assets. The three banks are likely to be awarded senior roles on the IPO, according to IFR, which added that it was likely to hit the market in the second half of the year. Sinochem’s oil assets stretch from upstream production and oil refining to tankers, storage facilities and fuel stations, according to its website. The company has recoverable reserves of roughly 800 million barrels of oil equivalent in nine countries, as well as refineries with an annual processing capacity of around 25 million metric tons, and it trades about 100 million tons of crude and products annually, the site says. Sinochem could be looking to shed oil assets to focus the parent company on its core chemicals business, said Tian Miao, a Beijing-based analyst at North Square Blue Oak Ltd. (SD-Agencies) |