Oct 15 (Reuters) - China Resources Beverage said on Tuesday it is aiming to raise as much as HK$5.04 billion ($650 million) in a Hong Kong listing, in what would be the city's largest initial public offering this year.
The company, which owns the C'estbon branded purified drinking products in China, is offering 347.8 million shares between HK$13.50 and HK$14.50 each, according to filings. It would be valued at $4.4 billion if the shares price at the top of the range.
The offering is set to be a test of global investor appetite for China-related deals with most investors having stayed on the sidelines in recent years due to sputtering growth for the world's second-biggest economy.
The deal comes amid heightened volatility in Hong Kong's equity market following a stimulus package - albeit one still only vaguely defined - from the Chinese government aimed at reviving growth.
The company, controlled by state-owned conglomerate China Resources Holdings, said 30% of the IPO proceeds would be used to increase production capacity and make its supply chain network more efficient. A further 23% would be used for expanding its sales channels while the rest would go towards sales/marketing and other endeavours.
Nearly half of the IPO has been covered with cornerstone investors subscribing to $310 million worth of stock.
Among them, UBS Asset Management has subscribed to $110 million worth of shares. Boyu and Oaktree have placed orders for $30 million, the filings showed.
The IPO follows an offering from tea drinks firm Sichuan Baicha Baidao Industrial's (2555.HK) which raised $330 million in April and is Hong Kong's biggest IPO for the year to date. Sichuan Baicha shares, however, have failed to find favour with investors and have nearly halved in value since listing.
The city's largest share sale in more than three years came in September, when Shenzhen-listed Chinese electrical appliance maker Midea Group (000333.SZ) raised nearly $4 billion in a secondary listing.
($1 = 7.7628 Hong Kong dollars)
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