China gold firm wants to be first to list overseas
Mon May 19, 2003 11:47 PM ET
SHANGHAI, May 20 (Reuters) - Shandong Jinchuang Co Ltd said on Tuesday it plans to become the first Chinese gold firm to list overseas, offering foreign investors a rare opportunity to buy into the rapid growth of the country's precious metals industry.
Shandong joins two other gold makers which have hatched plans to go public as China gradually liberalises a closely guarded but potentially lucrative precious metal market, expected to grow alongside galloping economic expansion, to boost transparency.
Jinchuang, whose mid-sized parent Jinchuang Group produces three tonnes of gold a year, said it would list up to 275.1 million shares on Hong Kong's Growth Enterprise Market to fund future mining projects and acquire gold smelters.
"Part of the proceeds will be invested in buying a gold smelter in Penglai city and acquiring mines in China. The rest of the money will be used for ore purchases and other operations," Jinchuang said in a statement in the Shanghai Securities News.
China is one of the world's biggest users of gold. Its output of the precious metal rose 7.96 percent year on year to 40.2 tonnes in the first quarter, official figures showed.
Zhongjin Gold Co Ltd, a unit of the country's biggest gold firm, China National Gold Corp, and Shandong Gold Group Co have also applied to list shares on domestic exchanges.
Jinchuang, based in the eastern province of Shandong, said it planned to list 49.3 percent of its shares, but did not say how much it planned to raise or when it would list.
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