North China Shipping Holding Co Ltd aims to raise at least US$700 million in a Hong Kong IPO, hoping to ride record freight rates for the transport of raw materials, sources said yesterday.
The Hong Kong-based arm of privately run Hebei Ocean Shipping Co Ltd - a Chinese shipowner and operator in international bulk cargo shipping - could list as early as the end of 2007, several sources said. 'We would like to speed up the process since the market is red hot and shipping rates are now at a record,' a second source said.
Unrelenting demand for energy and raw materials from China has helped fuel global freight rates and encouraged shipping firms to go public.
The Baltic Exchange's dry freight Index, which gauges the strength of seaborne dry commodities trade, has more than doubled this year and hit a record high of 9,259 on Wednesday.
Rival China Shipping Development Co has seen its share value double this year, outperforming a 61 per cent gain on the index for Chinese firms listed in Hong Kong. Shares of Pacific Basin Shipping, which operates smaller handysize ships, tripled this year to a record high yesterday.
The North China initial public offering is likely to follow a listing by Sinotrans (Group) Co's resources shipping unit, which aims to raise US$1.3 billion in November, sources have said.
Hebei Ocean owned 30 vessels - including three Very Large Crude Carriers, 12 capesize vessels and 10 panamax ships with a total capacity of 4.15 deadweight tonnes as of end-June 2007, according to its website.
The Hong Kong-based arm of privately run Hebei Ocean Shipping Co Ltd - a Chinese shipowner and operator in international bulk cargo shipping - could list as early as the end of 2007, several sources said. 'We would like to speed up the process since the market is red hot and shipping rates are now at a record,' a second source said.
Unrelenting demand for energy and raw materials from China has helped fuel global freight rates and encouraged shipping firms to go public.
The Baltic Exchange's dry freight Index, which gauges the strength of seaborne dry commodities trade, has more than doubled this year and hit a record high of 9,259 on Wednesday.
Rival China Shipping Development Co has seen its share value double this year, outperforming a 61 per cent gain on the index for Chinese firms listed in Hong Kong. Shares of Pacific Basin Shipping, which operates smaller handysize ships, tripled this year to a record high yesterday.
The North China initial public offering is likely to follow a listing by Sinotrans (Group) Co's resources shipping unit, which aims to raise US$1.3 billion in November, sources have said.
Hebei Ocean owned 30 vessels - including three Very Large Crude Carriers, 12 capesize vessels and 10 panamax ships with a total capacity of 4.15 deadweight tonnes as of end-June 2007, according to its website.