China's home appliances maker Qingdao Haier Co. Ltd. on Friday announced that it would move ahead with plans to sell up to 400 million so-called D-shares in Frankfurt, Germany, becoming the first Chinese company to do so, according to Reuters.
This also means that as a key sector of the Chinese blue-chip companies in the European securities market, the D-share market is to set sail on the infant China Europe International Exchange (CEINEX) based in Frankfurt.
Hinging on regulatory approval, the company noted the offering would begin around October 15. About 400 million shares would be issued this time, valued at about 964 million US dollars and denominated in euros.
According to CEINEX, after the offering, the company's shares will be traded on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange's regulated market.
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At this point, only 10 days have passed since FTSE Russell decided to include China A-shares in global benchmarks. From the "inviting in" strategy targeting international investors to the "going global" trend of domestic enterprises, the internationalization of China's capital market is showcasing a remarkable speed-up.
Qingdao Haier was listed on the Shanghai Stock Exchange 25 years ago and has since 2011 been the world's largest home appliance vendor by sales.
"Entering into European capital markets is an important part of Qingdao Haier's globalization strategy," Haier said. It also plans to cash in on the capital markets of China and Europe to diversify funding sources, optimize capital structure and expand investor base.
As an offshore trading platform focusing on China-related assets and RMB products, CEINEX extended its welcome to the arrival of Haier. Chen Han, Ceinex co-chief executive said that with Haier listed on the D-share market, China will create its "new offshore blue-chip market" in Europe.
The Haier listing "is an important step for CEINEX on its way to establish its platform as a link between European and Chinese financial markets," Chen added.
It is also highly regarded by the international market. Deutsche Bank is to serve as the sole global coordinator and joint book runner for the offering. The list of joint book runners and joint lead managers also includes a number of well-known investment banks and financial institutions as UBS and JPMorgan Chase.
Some industry insiders commented that building on the positive signals released by China's economic growth and the accelerated conversion of new and old kinetic energy, global capital has developed a keen interest in China's capital market and its future performance.