CSC Financial’s Hong Kong IPO seeks as much as $1.06b

CSC Financial Co, the Beijing-based brokerage and investment bank, and an existing shareholder are seeking as much as $1.06 billion in a Hong Kong initial public offering.

The company, formerly known as China Securities Finance Co, and one of its shareholders, the National Social Security Fund, are offering a combined 1.13 billion shares at HK$6.36 (82 cents) to HK$7.26 apiece, according to terms for the deal obtained on Monday.

Cornerstone investors will buy about $597 million of stock, representing 60 percent of the base deal size, assuming the IPO price is at the midpoint of the marketed range, the terms show.

A stock offering would add to the $17.2 billion in Hong Kong first-time share sales from financial firms this year, accounting for about three- quarters of the fundraising from the city’s new listings in 2016, data compiled showed. Mainland brokerages like CSC Financial have been selling shares in Hong Kong to fund expansion overseas.

“It’s part of their job as a State-owned enterprise to seek a listing since the coun- try is opening up the capital markets,” Li Bin, an analyst at Capital Securities Corp, said by phone on Monday. “That will help CSC gain more market share in areas such as brokerage and margin financing, because the securities space in China is rather competitive.”