華融IPO倚重基石投資者 China Huarong listing to rest heavily on cornerstones
One of China’s leading “bad banks” is expected to offer its $2.5bn Hong Kong float this week with a record amount locked up by so-called cornerstone backers, suggesting shaky investor sentiment that bodes ill for future new listings in the city.
中國主要“壞賬銀行”之一“中國華融資產管理公司”(China Huarong Asset Management)本週將在香港啓動首次公開發行(IPO)，計劃融資25億美元，預計“基石投資者”認購的股份比例將創紀錄。這表明香港市場上投資者情緒仍然低落，預示着未來的IPO前景不佳。
China Huarong Asset Managementis likely to allot more than 70 per cent of its listing to cornerstones, according to a person with knowledge of the deal. Cornerstone investors get the full allocation they request in return for accepting a lock-up period, typically six months.
一名知情人士表示，華融資產可能會把超過70%的擬發售股份分配給基石投資者。基石投資者會獲得他們要求的全部股份，條件是接受通常爲6個月的鎖定期。
While the practice was initially used to lure prospective investors by attaching marquee names to a deal, more recently cornerstones have helped lower the risk of an unfilled order book.
這種做法一開始是爲了拉攏名聲顯赫的機構認購，從而吸引潛在投資者，但近來，基石投資者也幫助降低了新股發行中認購不足的風險。
Cornerstones have taken up 38 per cent of the equity on offer in Hong Kong this year, according to Dealogic — a record as the practice has gathered pace since the city’s 2010 capital-raising boom faded.
根據Dealogic數據，基石投資者在今年香港新股發行中的認購比例達到了創紀錄的38%。自香港於2010年興起的融資熱潮消退以來，這一做法就變得流行起來。
The record for any single initial public offering of more than $500m is held by China Railway Signal, which listed in August with 67 per cent of its shares deal locked up, according to Dealogic.
Dealogic數據顯示，在融資額高於5億美元的IPO中，分配給基石投資者的股份比例最高的是中國通號(China Railway Signal)，該公司8月IPO時股份鎖定比例達67%。
Huarongwill announce its cornerstones when it begins taking orders on Thursday. Another person with knowledge of the deal said the proportion locked up with big investors would definitely be “well north of 50 [per cent].”
華融資產在週四開始接受認購時，將公佈基石投資者認購情況。另一名知情人士表示，被鎖定給大型投資者的股份比例肯定將“遠遠高於50%”。
The company declined to comment.
華融資產拒絕置評。
The deal is one of three big IPOs in Hong Kong being watched for signs of investor mood following China’s summer stock market rout.
這是當下香港市場備受關注的三大IPO之一，人們希望從這些IPO中瞭解今夏中國股市下跌之後的投資者情緒。
Brokers report still-sluggish demand for shares, with investors shunning new bets on the market in favour of tweaking their positions and waiting for a clearer mood to take hold.
券商表示購股需求仍然低迷，投資者不願做出新的押注，而是調整頭寸、等待市場情緒變得更加明朗。
China Re, the mainland reinsurer, will begin taking orders for its $2bn IPO on Monday, when it will also announce its cornerstones. They are expected to take more than half of that deal too, according to people familiar with the matter.
中國內地保險商中國再保險(China Re)計劃本週一開始接受投資者認購，擬融資20億美元，並將在同日宣佈基石投資者認購情況。知情人士表示，中再保基石投資者的認購比例預計也將超過50%。
CICC, the investment bank in which the private equity groups KKR and TPG have stakes, is expected to seek $1bn in the coming weeks, too.
私人股本集團KKR和TPG持有股份的投行中金公司(CICC)，預計也將在未來幾周裏IPO，尋求融資10億美元。
Huarong’s offering has been made more difficult by its need to justify pricing at a premium to its peer, Cinda Asset Management. Mainland rules bar financial companies from pricing at a discount to their book value and Cinda currently trades at about 0.9 times book, leaving Huarong’s bankers to make the case for a 10 per cent premium.
華融招股中有一個難處，它需要證明定價高於同行信達資產(Cinda Asset Management)是有道理的。中國內地相關規則禁止金融企業定價低於賬面價值，信達資產目前股價約爲賬面價值的90%，而華融的銀行家需要爲高出賬面價值10%的溢價找出理由。
Cinda and Huarong are two of the four asset managers set up in the 1990s to take on the bad loans of China’s biggest banks.
信達和華融是上世紀90年代成立、旨在吸收中國大型銀行壞賬的四大資產管理公司中的兩家。
In August last year Huarong sold a 21 per cent stake to a group of investors including Warburg Pincus and Goldman Sachs for $2.4bn. The funds it is seeking via its Hong Kong IPO imply a valuation one-third above that deal price.
去年8月，華融以24億美元的價格向多家投資者出售了21%的股權，其中包括美國華平投資集團(Warburg Pincus)和高盛(Goldman Sachs)。華融尋求通過香港IPO融資25億美元，其估值較上次出售股份時高出三分之一。
Shares in Cinda, meanwhile, have slipped about a third since August last year, weakened recently by its plans to buy Nanyang Bank from Bank of China for $8.8bn.
另一方面，自去年8月以來，信達股價已下跌約三分之一。最近因計劃以88億美元向中國銀行(BoC)收購南洋商業銀行(NCB)，信達股價走勢疲軟。
Huarong’s cornerstone list will also be scrutinised for its composition as well as the size of the stakes. Chinese state-owned enterprises in particular have become known for tapping so-called “friends and family” — such as fellow SoEs — as cornerstones rather than building a list of blue-chip investors.
至於華融的基石投資者名單，其構成和認購比例也將受到密切關注。中國國企特別出名的一點是，往往以其他國企等所謂“親友團”而不是藍籌機構爲基石投資者。
Cinda’s investors included Och-Ziff Capital, Norges Bank Investment Management Bank, Ping An’s asset management arm and Oaktree Capital.
信達的投資者包括Och-Ziff Capital、挪威央行投資管理機構(NBIM)、中國平安保險(Ping An)旗下的資產管理公司，以及橡樹資本(Oaktree Capital)。
