Has China Tower lured Alibaba and Hillhouse Capital to its mega IPO?

Reports claim they are investing around US$500m in the firm.

Bloomberg reports that wireless infrastructure operator China Tower has reportedly attracted Hillhouse Capital and Alibaba unit Taobao China Holding as amongst the ten cornerstone investors who have agreed to purchase US$1.4b of stock in its planned mega IPO. 

Hillhouse funds and the Alibaba unit are said to have agreed to invest US$400m and about $100m, respectively, along with other cornerstone investors which include affiliates of China National Petroleum Corp., SAIC Motor Corp. and Industrial & Commercial Bank of China Ltd.

China Tower, which is responsible for the construction, maintenance and operations of telecommunication towers and infrastructure across the country, is expected to start taking investor orders by Monday.

The company is said to be eyeing as much as $8b in a listing that could easily surpass smartphone maker Xiaomi’s earlier US$5.4b listing.

A listing of that magnitude could also easily increase downward pressure on the local stock market, Hao Hong, chief strategist at Bocom International Holdings Co. in Hong Kong told Reuters in an earlier interview, adding that blockbuster IPOs would further cap the money that could otherwise be chasing stocks.

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