(China Daily/Agencies)
Updated: 2008-03-07 09:28

China Railway Construction Corp, builder of more than half the nation's rail links since 1949, raised the maximum HK$18.3 billion (US$2.35 billion) sought in a Hong Kong initial stock sale, sources said.

The Beijing-based company sold 1.71 billion new shares at HK$10.70 each, the top end of a range marketed to investors, said the sources, declining to be identified. The sale represents a 14 percent stake.

China Railway Construction also raised US$3.13 billion in Shanghai, completing the largest IPO in Asia-Pacific this year even as falling markets prompted at least 65 companies worldwide to cancel or delay sales.

The Hong Kong shares begin trading on March 13 while the company aims to debut in Shanghai on March 10.

The company attracted Yale University, owner of North America's second biggest college endowment, and Singapore's Temasek Holdings Pte as investors.

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"It's a vote of confidence for China Railway Construction to get prominent investors such as Yale and Temasek," said Jeff Papp, senior analyst at Oberweis Asset Management Inc, an Illinois-based manager of about US$500 million of Greater China assets.

Hong Kong's largest first-time offering in almost a year may help the city rebound from the slowest start to its IPO market since 2000, measured by number of sales. Evergrande Real Estate Group Ltd and owners may raise as much as US$2.13 billion in a Hong Kong IPO, according to the sale's arrangers.

China Railway's sale values it at 28.7 times 2008 profit as estimated by banks arranging the sale, including CITIC Securities Co, Citigroup Inc and Macquarie Group Ltd. That's almost double the average valuation among companies on Hong Kong's benchmark Hang Seng Index.

The former railway construction unit of the Chinese military also became the first company this year to price a Hong Kong IPO at the top of a marketed range, a practice that was the norm in 2007, when the Hang Seng gained 39 percent.

New Media Group Holdings Ltd and Honghua Group Ltd, the only two other companies to complete Hong Kong IPOs this year, sold stocks at the mid-point of their offering ranges.

Companies delayed or canceled IPOs globally this year as mounting financial-institution losses linked to the US mortgage market and concerns about a recession there pushed stocks lower.

In Hong Kong, the world's third biggest IPO market in 2007, four offerings were pulled this year as the Hang Seng Index sank. Almost two-thirds of companies that sold stock in 2007 have fallen below their offer prices.

The government plans to spend 1.25 trillion yuan (US$175.8 billion) in the five years through 2010 to expand and upgrade the railway system, according to a share sale document of China Railway Construction.