PetroChina, the nation's biggest oil and gas producer, won shareholders' approval yesterday for an initial public offering of A shares in Shanghai worth about HK$40 billion.
Chairman Jiang Jiemin said the oil giant wanted to price its A shares at a discount to its Hong Kong-listed shares so that 'everyone can afford [the shares]', he was quoted by Bloomberg as saying.
The company's H shares yesterday closed 3.31 per cent lower at HK$10.52, or 12.9 times last year's earnings. It plans to sell up to four billion A shares.
Mainland firms tend to price their A-share offerings lower than their H shares, a practice that has led to substantial gains in trading debuts because investors place higher values on stocks listed in the mainland.
Bank of Communications surged 71 per cent on its mainland debut after pricing its A shares 4.8 per cent lower than its H shares in late April.
Ping An Insurance saw its mainland debut jump 38 per cent after it priced the shares at an 11.3 per cent discount in February, while China Life Insurance's shares soared 106 per cent after being priced at a 22.3 per cent discount.