China Everbright to make new IPO bid

Plans to raise US$1.5 billion in third IPO try in Hong Kong.

Group Chairman Tang Shuangning confirmed last week that the plan to list the bank in Hong Kong has been revived but did not reveal the size or timing of the deal.

Company sources said China Everbright has decided to restart proceedings for a Hong Kong listing and that this will occur in the third quarter. The next step will be to seek the board's approval for the IPO, which is expected soon. The bank will then seek the approval of the Hong Kong stock exchange.

China Everbright tried to list in Hong Kong in 2011 and 2012. It abandoned the deal in the second half of 2011 as global markets plummeted and postponed its IPO for 2012 due to unfavorable market conditions.

If successful this year, the company’s Hong Kong listing will be the first billion dollar deal in the city since the People's Insurance Co. (Group) of China Ltd., a Chinese state-owned firm, raised $3.1 billion last December.

A successful deal will be welcome news for Hong Kong, which is striving to regain its position as the world’s IPO center. Hong Kong sunk to number four in the rankings in 2012 after dominating the list for the previous three years.

Other billion dollar deals in the making are those of the Bank of Shanghai Company that is looking to raise $2 billion and China Guangfa Bank, which hopes to raise $5 billion.