Sinopharm Group may raise as much as US$1.13 billion from its planned initial public offering (IPO) in Hong Kong, Bloomberg reported, citing two people familiar with the situation. The company, China’s largest drug distributor and the only one controlled by the central government, intends to sell 545.7 million new shares – which equates to a 25% stake – at HK$12.25-16.00 (US$1.58-2.06). If priced at the top end of the range, Sinopharm would be valued at 25 times its estimated profit for next year, according to banks involved in the share sale. The company has already brought on board nine cornerstone investors, including the Government of Singapore Investment Corp, Och-Ziff Capital Management and China Life Asset Management. Sinopharm is one of six companies looking to list in Hong Kong this month. Between them they hope to raise almost US$5 billion, which would make September the busiest month for IPOs in Hong Kong since November 2007.