China’s Hengli Group is considering a Hong Kong initial public offering for its shipbuilding unit, according to Bloomberg.
The company is working with an adviser and may seek to raise about $100 million in a share sale, one of the people said, asking not to be identified as the information isn’t public.
Deliberations are preliminary and a share sale may not materialize, the people said. Hengli Group didn’t respond to requests for comment.
Founded in 1994, the group operates along the full production chain in oil refining, petrochemical, advanced polyester materials and textiles. It has three listed subsidiaries, including oil refiner Hengli Petrochemical Co., which is down 21% from a May 14 peak in Shanghai and has a market value of $12.9 billion.
Hong Kong’s IPO market has been affected by slower economic growth in China. Some $2.44 billion has been raised through IPOs in the city this year, a decline of around 8% from the same period in 2023, data compiled by Bloomberg show. The average size of IPOs is about $58 million versus $76 million a year earlier.