Regulator to examine COSL's Shanghai IPO application

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2007-09-08 16:03

China Oilfield Service Ltd (COSL), a listing arm of the country's largest offshore oil producer, CNOOC, will have its Shanghai listing application examined by the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) next Monday, the national securities watchdog announced in a statement.

Asia's largest oilfield services provider plans to issue 820 million yuan (US$108 million)-denominated shares, or 17.03 percent of its total shares, according to the draft prospectus it has submitted to CSRC for approval.

The Hong Kong-listed company has a total of 3.995 billion shares, including 1.5 billion H shares, accounting for 38 percent.

COSL also plans to raise about 13 billion yuan for 14 construction projects including drilling vessels and multi-functional drilling platforms.

Based on calculations, its initial public offering price will be no less than 15.97 yuan, higher than its record Hong Kong-listed share price of 15.30 yuan last Friday.

COSL, with CNOOC controlling 62 percent of its stake, was listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange in November 2002, issuing 561 million shares and raising over HK$1.04 billion.

Its shares leapt 9.88 percent to close at HK$14.24 on the Hong Kong stock market on Thursday.

In the first half of 2007, COSL earned 1.1 billion yuan in net profits, up 63.4 percent over the same period last year. Its business volume rose 48.6 percent to 4.26 billion yuan.

A leading integrated oilfield services provider in China's offshore oil market, COSL operates offshore oil and gas prospecting, exploration and production services.

The other two Hong Kong-listed subsidiaries of CNOOC, CNOOC Limited and the Offshore Oil Engineering Co Ltd, are also preparing for a listing on Chinese mainland stock markets, according to CNOOC deputy general manager Luo Han.


(For more biz stories, please visit Industry Updates)



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