The landmark listing of China Telecom (Hong Kong) (CTHK) could raise as much as $29.9 billion, valuing the company at up to $120 billion, its draft prospectus has revealed.
The issue price of Hong Kong's biggest ever flotation has been fixed initially between $7.75 and $10, although that could change according to demand.
It puts the shares on a multiple of between 21.8 and 28.2, calculated on this year's estimated earnings of 4.41 billion yuan (about HK$4.12 billion) on a fully diluted basis.
A report last week by the global co-ordinator of the issue, Goldman Sachs (Asia), said fair value for the shares was in a lower range of $7.33 to $9.55 - a possible sign that pre-sales work has indicated stronger demand than initially anticipated.
The final issue price will be fixed on October 16.
China Telecom will issue 2.6 billion new shares, or 22.4 per cent of its enlarged capital, with an over-allotment option of 390 million shares.