Remy Martin's winery joint venture in Tianjin is poised to become the first mainland vineyard to launch a global share offering, as early as the next quarter, aiming to raise up to $200 million. Dynasty Winery is 62 per cent owned by Hong Kong-listed Tianjin Development Holdings, 33 per cent by Remy Martin and the remainder by a Hong Kong businessman. On Wednesday the company applied to list on the Hong Kong main board and said it planned to sell 25 per cent of its new share issue. Dynasty Winery produces about 80 varieties of red and white wine, champagne and brandy under the Dynasty brand. It competes with domestic brands such as Great Wall, Dragon Seal and Imperial Court. Tianjin Development said the proposed listing - Dynasty Group - would give the winemaker a higher market profile and access to debt and equity markets to fund development and expansion. However, the company said the move would dilute its stake in Dynasty to 46.5 per cent. Set up in 1980 as a test case of China's economic reform, Dynasty combined French fermentation technology and mainland grapes. It has the capacity to produce 40,000 tonnes of wine annually. Analysts estimated Dynasty's global offering could raise as much as $200 million in November, on the back of its net profit of $63 million last year. The profit was 9 per cent lower than 2002 as Sars and punishing competition cut sales. Turnover shrank 3 per cent to $603 million last year, according to Tianjin Development's annual report.
