By Scott Murdoch
SYDNEY (Reuters) -China’s Foshan Haitian Flavouring and Food Company has received approval from the Hong Kong Stock Exchange to list in the city and it aims to raise about $1 billion, according to two sources with direct knowledge of the matter.
The Shanghai-listed company’s proposed deal was approved by the exchange’s listing committee on Thursday, the sources said.
Foshan Haitian did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Reuters. Hong Kong Stock Exchange declined to comment.
Bookbuilding for the deal will start as early as within the next two weeks, one of the sources said.
The sources could not be named discussing confidential information.
Foshan Haitian said it had been China’s largest condiment maker for 27 years in volume terms, with a market share double its closest rival.
Its soy and oyster sauce products were ranked number one by market share, the company said in preliminary filings to the Hong Kong exchange.
Foshan Haitian’s deal comes as Hong Kong’s equity capital markets spring back to life after two years of flatlining activity.
Battery giant CATL has finalised a $4.6 billion listing and its shares will start trading on Tuesday. Jiangsu Hengrui is currently bookbuilding to raise up to $1.27 billion in a Hong Kong listing.
(Reporting by Scott Murdoch; Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman and Stephen Coates)
