Chinese Solar Operator Xinyi Energy Raises $465m In Hong Kong IPO

Xinyi Energy Holdings Ltd., a Chinese solar farm operator, raised $465 million after pricing its Hong Kong initial public offering near the bottom of a marketed range, people with knowledge of the matter said.

The unit of Xinyi Solar Holdings Ltd. sold 1.88 billion shares at HK$1.94 apiece, the people said, asking not to be identified because the information is private. Xinyi Energy offered the shares at HK$1.89 to HK$2.35 each, according to a prospectus. It aims to begin trading May 28.

At $465 million, Xinyi Energy’s offering will become the second biggest first-time share sale in Hong Kong this year, trailing only Chinese brokerage Shenwan Hongyuan Group Co.’s $1.2 billion listing, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Before the deal, the city’s IPO fundraising was having the slowest start to a year since 2013, with just $4.4 billion raised, the data show.

An external representative for Xinyi Energy wasn’t immediately available for comment.

Xinyi Energy is completing its listing after delaying the share sale in December due to stock-market volatility. Since then, Chinese regulators have proposed resuming approvals for some large-scale solar farms to receive subsidies, providing a boost to an industry that slumped last year as the government moved to curb new installations.

Veteran Hong Kong property investor Law Kar-po and Shenzhou International Group Holdings Ltd. Chairman Ma Jianrong have agreed to buy a combined $113 million of stock as cornerstone investors in Xinyi Energy’s offering, its prospectus shows. BNP Paribas SA is sole sponsor for the deal.

Bloomberg