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SCMP Reporter

CHINA Tire Holdings, wholly owned by China Strategic Investment, began trading on the New York Stock Exchange yesterday with an offer price of US$17 a share.

  The listing is the third by a Chinese manufacturing operation in New York after Brilliance China and CP Pokphand's motorcycle operations.

   The China Tire shares were expected to trade between $13 to $15 each. The $17 offer price represents a price-earning multiple of 22.

  The $103 million proceeds from the exercise will be used to buy production and testing equipment, and build plant and a research and training centre.

  The Bermuda-incorporated China Tire is a holding company which owns 51 per cent of Hangzhou Zhongce Rubber Co and 55 per cent of Double Happiness Tyre Industries Corp.

  Following yesterday's listing of China Tire, China Strategic chairman Oei Hong-leong said more mainland enterprises might be listed in New York.

  China Strategic Investment, a Hongkong listed company, has interests in more than 100 Chinese enterprises engaged in a variety of industries in several provinces.

  Three candidates for overseas listing include a paper plant in Ningbo, a brewery in Hangzhou and a chemical plant in Shanxi.

  The paper plant, hailed as the industry leader in China, has a market share of 12 per cent.

  China Strategic is planning to expand its annual output of 50,000 tonne of white paper card to 300,000 tonnes.

  ''The prospects are promising for Chinese enterprises to list in the US because the market capacity is much larger than in Hongkong,'' said Mr Oei.

  China would also welcome such listings as, apart from raising funds, overseas listings could help upgrade technology and equipment at existing plants.

  However, Mr Oei said the major problem in seeking a New York listing was bringing the accounting standards of Chinese enterprises up to US requirements.

  China Strategic will be able to completely sell off its Hongkong properties by the end of this year - for about HK$400 million - making its interests solely China-based.



China Tire makes Wall Street debut