China's biggest telecommunications equipment maker, Hua Hui Science & Technology, wants to list overseas to raise its international profile, enabling it to become a global player as it expands into developed markets.
The 21st Century Business Herald said Hua Hui, based in Shenzhen, had hired Morgan Stanley as the underwriter, and aimed to complete the listing by the end of this year.
The firm's profits last year totalled 2.7 billion yuan (about HK$2.53 billion) on sales of 25.5 billion yuan. In the first half of this year, sales dropped to seven billion yuan and profits to 220 million yuan due to poor market conditions.
Hua Hui produces 30 to 40 per cent of the 200 million switchboard lines in China. It also makes equipment that connects about 60 per cent of the country's Internet traffic.
With a debt-asset ratio of 56 per cent and a strong cash flow, Hua Hui wants to list less for the money than the prestige and profile of an international player.
Exports in the first half of this year were US$300 million, with sales in Germany and Spain in addition to its traditional markets in Thailand, the Philippines, India, Pakistan and Russia.
