Haitong Securities seeks Hong Kong listing in April

China’s second-largest securities broker by assets, Haitong Securities (600837.SH), is preparing another attempt at a US$1.5 billion listing in Hong Kong, Reuters reported, citing a report by IFR, a Thomson Reuters (TRI.NYSE) publication. Haitong cancelled a US$1.7 billion Hong Kong listing in December owing to turmoil in global markets. But IFR reports that the firm intends to seek approval from the Hong Kong Stock Exchange’s listing committee on Thursday for another try. Approval would open the way to assess demand and price as early as late March or early April. Haitong is said to be finalizing a list of potential investors for the majority of shares prior to a launch. Haitong scrapped a planned launch in December, in which Warburg Pincus and Chuo Mitsui Trust & Banking (a unit of Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings; 8309.TSE) pledged to buy US$222 million worth of shares.