Two of China’s biggest real estate firms are seeking approval to raise about 47 billion yuan ($7.37 billion) in Shanghai listings, in the first batch of companies to start the listing process after an almost five month hiatus.
China said earlier this month it would resume initial public offerings (IPOs), which had been suspended since July as authorities tried to stem a market crash.
The reopened window gives property developers, among the most indebted sector in China, another channel to refinance amid slower sales and chase a more favorable valuation as their shares in Hong Kong remain cheap.
Guangzhou R&F Properties is seeking to raise about 35 billion yuan on the Shanghai stock exchange in what could be the biggest listing since 2010, it said in a prospectus posted on the securities regulator’s website on Friday.
R&F properties plans to issue no more than 1.07 billion new shares, and will use funds to finance various projects, it said.
Dalian Wanda Commercial Properties, China’s largest commercial property developer, is seeking to raise about 12 billion yuan in a Shanghai listing, it said in a separate prospectus posted on Friday.
Listing on the A-share market “will help to raise our brand and fan base,” Liu Chaohui, Dalian Wanda Group’s vice president, said at a press conference in August, adding funds would be used to help the firm refinance and fund its commercial development. “Investors want to see the listing of Wanda and it will also help our H-share performance,” he added.
State-owned Beijing Capital Land also said it will submit its A-share listing application as soon as possible, while Country Garden told Reuters it is working on the application for a spinoff of its property management business on the Shanghai bourse.
Dalian Wanda plans to issue about 250 million new shares.
Both firms’ applications to list are subject to regulatory approval.
Dalian Wanda and R&F Properties are in a batch of 84 companies.