China Coal Energy Co has hired a Morgan Stanley joint venture to handle its roughly US$4.3 billion Shanghai listing, sources familiar with the deal said on Thursday.

The country's second largest coal producer has hired China International Capital Corp (CICC), in which Wall Street bank Morgan Stanley holds a 34.3 percent stake, to sponsor its Shanghai IPO, which is expected to be launched in December, the sources said.

China Coal announced in July that it planned to issue up to 1.525 billion A shares in the Shanghai Stock Exchange to fund coal-related projects, joining a growing list of domestic firms to tap the country's buoyant stock market. The sources said China Coal is awaiting approval from the China Securities Regulatory Commission for its Shanghai IPO.

CICC was also one of the joint sponsors for the US$8.9 billion Shanghai IPO of China Coal's bigger rival, Shenhua Energy Corp in early October.

The shares would be worth HK$33.7 billion (US$4.32 billion) based on China Coal's Hong Kong-listed share price of HK$22.1 by Wednesday's close, according to Reuters calculations.