Shimao Property Holdings says it has made preliminary inquiries with the stock exchange on the possibility of spinning off its hotel, tourism and leisure property business on the main board.
However, no formal listing application has yet been submitted, the company added in a filing to the stock exchange.
Analysts estimated Shimao could raise approximately 10 billion yuan (HK$11.95 billion) from the proposed separate listing, which could be applied to funding its hotel and tourism property projects.
'The intention of listing comes at a boom time for the mainland tourism market,' said Dundas Deng, an analyst at Guotai Junan Hong Kong.
The fast-emerging middle class on the mainland will generate strong travel growth, said Deng. 'It will create demand for more hotel rooms.'
The firm owns four hotels, with 1,994 rooms, and three others - the Hilton Shimao Nanjing, Holiday Inn Shimao in Shaoxing, and Hilton Shimao Tianjin - will be completed this year.