Petrochina IPO begins

Petrochina has launched its A-share initial public offering, the Financial Times reported. The IPO could raise more than US$9 billion, making it the largest domestic listing ever. The listing could also make the company the world's largest by value, ahead of ExxonMobil, after it passed GE as second-largest last week. PetroChina said it would offer 4 billion A-shares to investors. Pricing would be announced on October 30 and trading will start a week later. The company, a unit of China National Petroleum Corp, said it would use the money raised to fund five projects, including developing oilfields and expanding ethylene capacity.