Heating up: IPOs may resume soon as foreign companies ponder listings

Is it really going to happen? Is the wait finally over? We’ll have to wait a few days to be sure, but if the rumors are right, we may see the first steps toward a resumption of mainland initial public offerings as early as this weekend. That’s when the China Securities and Regulatory Commission (CSRC) may approve the first batch of new listings, all small-cap firms so as not to upset the market’s possibly precarious balance. Some companies are said to be ready to go and are just waiting for final regulatory approval. If it all goes well, they may be joined by a few more recognizable names: Coca-Cola, GE and Wal-Mart, which at least one UBS analyst thinks may be mulling A-share listings to get their hands on some direct funding in renminbi. Meanwhile, down in Hong Kong, non-state-owned coal trader China Qinfa is hoping to raise up to US$82 million in its IPO. Even further south, China’s in Australia again, but this time not for commodities. Sovereign wealth fund China Investment Corp will commit US$158.9 million to a financing facility with Macquarie aimed at allowing Goodman Group, an industrial-property trust, to reduce its debt. Also rumored to be in an investing mood (despite earlier denials) is Sinopec. The state-owned oil firm is reportedly locking horns with Korea National Oil Co over Addax Petroleum, the Swiss oil and gas explorer both companies are said to be interested in buying.