Economy

Markets

Industries

Insights

Reports

Events

Airport: Sale won't hurt listing plan

By Lu Haoting (China Daily)
Updated: 2007-02-28 11:01

Beijing Capital International Airport Co Ltd (BCIA) said yesterday that Aeroports de Paris Management's sale of its entire stake in the company would not affect its A-share listing plan.

The Hong Kong-listed company will apply to the China Securities Regulatory Commission in April to sell no more than 800 million yuan-denominated shares to raise 4 billion yuan to finance Beijing airport's expansion, said Shu Yong, BCIA's board secretary.

The domestic share offer is expected in the third quarter of this year, Shu said.

Aeroports de Paris (ADP), the owner of Charles de Gaulle and Orly airports in Paris, sold 253.6 million shares in BCIA to institutional investors on Monday for HK$1.97 billion at a price of HK$7.77 per H share. The sale will be completed today.

BCIA's shares continued to fall yesterday to close at HK$7.52, dropping 9.4 percent.

"ADP's share sale will not affect our operation," Shu said.

ADP bought a 9.9 percent stake in BCIA in 2000 when the Chinese company was listed in Hong Kong. It became BCIA's second-largest shareholder. Capital Airports Holding, China's largest airport company, controls about 60 percent of BCIA.

"ADP's stake sale is a wise and reasonable choice in terms of financial return," said Li Lei, an aviation analyst with CITIC China Securities.

ADP bought BCIA's stake when its H shares were priced at only HK$2-3 apiece. BCIA's shares have nearly doubled in the past three months from about HK$4 to HK$8 per share.

"That was a big surge in such a short period of time. Investors would expect the share price to fall to a more 'reasonable' position in the mid term. ADP has chosen the best moment to earn a good profit," Li said.

ADP was not available for comment.

BCIA will issue its annual financial report at the end of this month. Li said its revenue was likely to rise 30 percent due to China's fast-growing aviation market.

But BCIA's profit growth in the next two years would not be "as optimistic as before" due to its vast investment in the ongoing airport expansion and the rising depreciation cost of existing fixed assets, Li said.