PetroChina prepares for domestic IPO

The domestic initial public offering of PetroChina, one of the most profitable companies in Asia, will be reviewed by the China Securities Regulatory Commission on Monday, Xinhua reported (in Chinese). According to its proposal, PetroChina will issue up to 4 billion new A-shares on the Shanghai Stock Exchange. If the A-shares match the company's current price of US$1.65 on the Hong Kong market, the debut will raise US$6.65 billion. Funds raised by the listing will be used to invest in the company's Daqing and Jidong oil field construction projects in order to increase domestic oil production, said a spokesman for PetroChina.