Tai-I International, China's fourth-largest bare copper wiremaker, has brought in Citigroup and AIF Capital as strategic investors before it goes public in Hong Kong later this year to raise between HK$300 million and HK$400 million, market sources said.
Tai-I International, a Guangzhou unit of Taiwan-listed Tai-I Electric Wire and Cable, has mandated Polaris Capital to handle the listing, the sources said.
Tai-I International's unit Tai-I Jiang has an annual capacity of 150,000 tonnes of bare copper wire and another subsidiary, Tai-I Copper, has a yearly capacity of 50,000 tonnes of magnet wire after the completion of expansion work in August, said Jack Lin, the general manager of both units.
Mr Lin confirmed the change in Tai-I International's shareholding structure but declined comment on its listing plan.
'We introduced Citigroup and AIF as strategic investors in August to strengthen our shareholder base,' he said.
Hong Kong-based AIF has a 23 per cent stake in the company while Citigroup owns 11 per cent, reducing the holdings of Tai-I International's Taiwan-listed parent firm to 51 per cent from 85 per cent.