China regulator to review Great Wall Motor IPO

China's securities regulator said it will review next Monday an application for a Shanghai IPO by Great Wall Motor Co, which could raise up to $82 million based on the company's Hong Kong share price.

Great Wall Motor, China's largest maker of sport utility vehicles (SUVs) and already listed in Hong Kong, plans to issue up to 121.7 million new domestic-currency A shares, or 10 percent of its expanded capital, to fund production expansion and upgrade technology, it said in a draft prospectus.

At the company's Hong Kong share price of HK$5.27 as of Wednesday's close, the initial public offer could raise as much as 564 million yuan (US$82 million), a tiny portion of the 2.76 billion yuan in funds the company said it needed.

"The company will use its own resources to meet the rest of the fund demand if the A-share proceeds are not enough," it said in the prospectus.

China's SUV market expanded 60 percent last year, boosted by a booming economy. Great Wall Motor had a market share of 14.52 percent, it said. The company also had a nearly 30 percent share of China's pick-up truck market last year.

Great Wall Motor's net profit attributable to investors was 945.47 million yuan last year, up 32 percent from the year before, with total assets of 10.09 billion yuan as of the end of last year.

It was not immediately clear how soon Great Wall Motor would be able to launch its Shanghai IPO after regulatory approval, as China's weak stock market has already delayed three major IPOs by China State Construction Engineering Corp, Everbright Securities and China South Locomotive & Rolling Stock Corp.

Great Wall Motor's Hong Kong-listed shares were up 1.33 percent at HK$5.34 in morning trade, outperforming the Hong Kong benchmark Hang Seng Index's .HSI 1.15 percent drop.

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