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Vetting soon for Guoyuan's listing plan

(Shanghai Daily)
Updated: 2007-06-21 08:44

Guoyuan Securities Co's back-door listing plan is set to be vetted by China's stock regulator soon, which might make it the second domestic broker to launch a reverse takeover, industry sources said yesterday.

Guoyuan, which is based in Anhui Province, submitted its plan to acquire Shenzhen-listed Beijing Huaer Co early this year and may have the proposal reviewed in coming weeks, said people familiar with the situation.

The plan, which is very likely to gain the regulatory green light, will see Guoyuan list stocks publicly as early as late this year after a similar move by Shanghai-based Haitong Securities Co, which has already received the approval, the sources said.

Officials at Guoyuan were not available to comment yesterday.

"The regulator plans to vet several plans by domestic brokers for a back-door listing in the next few months," said a source close to the stock watchdog. "It's long-term aim to help healthy brokerages tap public funds for expansion before opening the industry to wider foreign competition."

China late last year suspended vetting proposals for setting up new brokers, including Sino-foreign joint ventures. The regulator has said it would open the sector to overseas investment as early as August.

Related readings:  Shanghai Urban nods on Haitong's backdoor listing proposal  Brokerage beefs up to ease IPO issue  Gov't to raise foreign brokerages' investment cap Find more in Markets Watch

E arly this month, Haitong Securities, which obtained the nod from the China Securities Regulatory Commission to take over Shanghai Urban Agro-Business Co, is set to be the first broker in the country to go public in four years.

GF Securities Co, which in September proposed to acquire Shenzhen-listed Yan Bian Highway Construction Co, is still awaiting approval after several firms and people involved in the deal were punished last month due to improper information disclosures.

Guoyuan in March unveiled the plan to swap one of its own shares for 0.67 share each of Beijing Huaer, which is 58 percent controlled by Beijing Eastern Petrochemical Co, a privately held unit of China Petroleum & Chemical Group, Asia's top refiner.

Guoyuan posted a net profit of 554 million yuan (US$72.6 million) last year, after a loss of 120 million yuan in 2005. It holds controlling stakes in Changsheng Fund Management Co and Antai Futures Co and has a securities subsidiary in Hong Kong.