SHANGHAI Outer Gasqiao Free Trade Zone Development Company (Shanghai Gasqiao) is expected to launch its B-share issue through a simultaneous public offering in Hongkong next month.
The property developer will become the first mainland enterprise to sell B shares directly to foreign investors, rather than through international merchant banking institutions.
The unprecedented move is likely to give a psychological boost to China's B-share market and will set an example for other mainland companies.
Sources in Shanghai said the Registrar General's department in Hongkong and China's securities watchdog were putting the final touches on the public offering.
Senior executives of Shanghai Gasqiao, led by general manager Ruan Yanhua, are expected to visit Hongkong next month at the time of the planned offer.
The public offer had originally been set for this month, but the longer-than-expected vetting process by Hongkong and Chinese authorities had caused a short delay.
Concerns have centred on the standard of the accounting and reporting systems in China, which are different from international standards.
