China Shipping Container Lines Co said today that it will float
up to 2.34 billion yuan-denominated A shares to raise capital for
expansion.
The company plans to use 8.8 billion yuan (US$ 1.18 billion) of
the proceeds to build 16 container vessels, two billion yuan to buy
container-related assets from its parent and 1.2 billion yuan to
shore up working capital and repay bank loans, according to its
prospectus.
The company expects its earnings per share to reach 0.277 yuan
based on an estimated combined net profit of 3.23 billion yuan this
year.
The book building process will start today and the price will be
fixed on December 6, according to its prospectus.
The largest mainland shipping-container company, founded in
1997, started trading in Hong Kong on June 16, 2004 with registered
capital of 934,700 yuan. The total capital stock amounted to 9,347
million, of which 59.87 percent was held by China Shipping Group,
and the rest belonged to shareholders of H-shares.
China Shipping Container Lines Co operates container-related
businesses on more than 50 major routes and feeder services both
domestically and internationally. Its service network covers
Chinese costal areas and major trade regions in Asia, Europe, the
United States, Africa and the Persian Gulf.
China Shipping Container Lines Co closed at 6.13 Hong Kong
dollars (US$0.79) in Hong Kong yesterday, dropping 5.9 percent.
(Shanghai Daily November 28, 2007)
