China Qinfa seeks $82m in HK listing

China Qinfa Group is hoping to raise nearly US$82 million in a Hong Kong listing, the South China Morning Post reported. The Guangzhou-based firm, China’s largest non-state-owned coal trading and logistics firm, is planning to sell 250 million new shares in Hong Kong at US$0.26 to US$0.33 each in order to finance the construction of a new coal handling terminal. China Qinfa sold 6.3 million tons of coal in 2008, which represents 1.2% of total coal sales by non-state firms and 0.4% by all companies in an extremely fragmented market, its preliminary listing prospectus showed. Although no comparable listed firm exists in Hong Kong, analysts said the selling price, at 6.7 to 8.5 times its 2008 earnings, was reasonable when compared to other coal producers.