Mainland coal producer Shenhua Group, which had planned to be the first company to list simultaneously in Hong Kong and Shanghai, may postpone the A-share portion of the listing, despite new policies in the mainland to encourage quality companies to list at home.
Market sources said Shenhua hoped to raise US$1.5 billion to US$2 billion in the first quarter but was apprehensive about proceeding with an A-share listing before the risks of new initial public offer pricing rules at the Shanghai Stock Exchange were better understood.
'The dual-listing plan appears unlikely now as the company wants to list by the first quarter,' a source said.
The rules, issued by the China Securities Regulatory Commission at the weekend, outline book-building requirements designed to ensure that share offerings are priced realistically. A shares traditionally list and trade at a significant premium to H shares, contributing in part to the protracted slump on the mainland's stock markets.
Under the new system, sponsoring investment banks will assess demand among fund managers, insurance companies and other institutional investors before setting the initial indicative price.
Shenhua's listing sponsors were now unsure whether A shares should be priced at a premium to H shares, the source said. Rather than serve as trailblazers, Shenhua and its sponsors might prefer to wait until others established pricing precedents under the new rules.
