Corn refiner and processor Global Bio-chem Technology Group plans to raise HK$278 million after expenses in an initial public offering of 320 million new shares at HK$1.02 each on the mainboard, according to chairman Liu Xiaoming, right. The price is a weighted average price-earning multiple of 4.5 times estimated net profit for last year. The company will use about HK$140 million to buy production equipment and spend another HK$50 million on research and development. About HK$60 million will be used for early repayment of bank borrowings and HK$6 million to expand the distribution and sales network. The remaining HK$22 million will be used as general working capital. Cheung Kong (Holdings) and United States agricultural concern Cargill have agreed to exercise options to subscribe to 64 million shares and 11.2 million shares respectively, 12 to 18 months after the company's trading debut on the stock market.