In what would be the Hong Kong’s largest initial public offering (IPO) in four months, China Huishan Dairy Holdings Co. plans to raise $1.3 billion in a late September listing. People with knowledge of the deal say that Huishan has already secured three cornerstone investors, including Norway’s central bank and the private equity arm of China’s food giant Cofco Group.
Huishan is set to begin taking institutional orders September 10. If demand is high enough, the company plans to begin trading on or around September 27, according to the New York Times.
China’s domestic dairy industry has been under growing pressure to increase production since 2008, when foreign dairy companies began to dominate the sector in the wake of a tainted infant formula scandal that killed six babies and sickened thousands. Partially to ease concerns about food safety, Huishan imports most of its cattle from Australia—110,000 head at last count.
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