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)