China National Biotec plans $2bn Hong Kong IPO

China National Biotec Group, a subsidiary of Sinopharm Group (1099.HKG), plans to raise up to US$2 billion from an initial public offering in Hong Kong, Bloomberg reported, citing two people familiar with the matter. China International Capital Corp, Morgan Stanley (MS.NYSE) and UBS AG (UBS.NYSE) have been hired to handle the IPO, which will occur in the first half of 2012 if all goes according to plan. Beijing-based National Biotec claims to be China’s largest biotechnology company and the fourth-biggest vaccine maker in the world. It has roughly US$1.4 billion in assets and has recorded annual sales of more than US$813.95 million. Sinopharm Group, China’s largest pharmaceutical company, is jointly owned by state-owned China National Pharmaceutical Group and Shanghai Fosun Pharmaceutical (600196.SH).