Chia Hsin unit considering secondary share placement

Chia Hsin Cement Greater China Holding, a spin-off of Taiwan-listed Chia Hsin Cement, is considering a secondary placement in Hong Kong after raising US$54m at the height of the initial public offering frenzy late last year.

Chairman Robert Wang said the company picked Hong Kong over an A-share listing because it was quicker and the market was more transparent and international than the mainland or Taiwanese exchanges.  Mr Wang said seven to eight Taiwanese companies - in information technology, cement and cement-related sectors - were also planning to tap the Hong Kong market this year.

"After six months, we could issue a secondary placement," Mr Wang said. "The demand for China-related shares will not weaken this year. Money from the US and Europe needs somewhere to go and will flow to Hong Kong."

Another factor pushing Taiwan firms towards Hong Kong’s market is their government’s restriction on the amount of capital a parent company can invest in the mainland.

Chia Hsin is using the money raised from Hong Kong to expand production at its cement plant in Zhenjiang city, Jiangsu province, which started commercial output in 1998.  It is aiming to produce 3.1Mta this year, up from 2.85Mt to 2.9Mt last year, rising to a total of 7.5Mt when the new plant is completed.