Wilmar eyes $4 bln China unit spinoff in HK -report

HONG KONG, July 20 - Singapore-based cooking oils producer Wilmar International <WLIL.SI> aims to raise US$3 billion to US$4 billion through an initial public offering by its China subsidiary in Hong Kong in the first half of next year, the South China Morning Post reported on Monday, citing an unidentified source.

Wilmar, one of the world largest agribusinesses with operations in Indonesia, Malaysia, China, India and Europe, has hired Bank of China International, Goldman Sachs <GS.N> and Morgan Stanley <MS.N> to advise on the deal.

The IPO would value the company’s China subsidiary at up to US$14 billion, the report said. It gave no further listing details.

Chinese iron ore miner China Vanadium has also revived its plan to raise US$200 million in an IPO by the end of this year or early next year, the newspaper said. Citigroup is handling the deal.

A number of listing hopefuls have revived their listing plans in Hong Kong following a stock market rally and on improving risk appetite.