World top nitrogen fertilizer maker Yara International will buy at least 10 percent of the US$400 million Hong Kong IPO of China Blue Chemical, a fertilizer unit of the parent of CNOOC Ltd, a Hong Kong newspaper reported on Thursday.

The South China Morning Post cited market sources as saying Yara would like to buy as much as 40 percent of the offering but a final decision on the size had yet to be made.

UBS and JPMorgan were arranging the share sale, the paper said.

Marketing of the IPO is to begin on Sept. 11 with the offer to start on Sept. 18. Trading will begin on Sept. 29.

The newspaper quoted people familiar with the situation as saying China Blue Chemical would be offered the shares at about 8 to 10 times forecast earnings. It gave no further details.

China Blue Chemical runs a gas-fed fertilizer plant producing 800,000 tonnes of carbamide, used in animal feeds and fertilizers, a year.

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