Zijin Gold seeks $3.2 billion in Hong Kong IPO as demand for the precious metal soars

By Kane Wu and Scott Murdoch

Sept 19 (Reuters) - China's Zijin Gold International, keen to make the most of bullish sentiment for the precious metal, is aiming to raise $3.2 billion in a Hong Kong IPO that is set to be the city's largest in four years.

Adding to a strong recovery for Hong Kong's equity capital market, the offering could garner as much as HK$28.7 billion ($3.7 billion) at a valuation of $24.6 billion if an overallotment of shares is fully exercised.

Gold, which tends to perform well during periods of uncertainty and in low-interest rate environments, has gained nearly 39% so far this year.

"A $24 billion market cap for Zijin Gold is reasonable," said David Blennerhassett, a strategist of Ballingal Investment Advisors, who publishes on SmartKarma, in a Friday research note.

"This is a total bull market for gold plays. Momentum is strong. You have long-only support," he said.

Zijin Gold, a wholly owned unit of China's Zijin Mining 601899.SS that operates all of the group's gold mines outside China, is selling 349 million shares at HK$71.59 apiece, its prospectus showed on Friday.

Trading is set to commence September 29.

It would be the largest IPO in Hong Kong since JD Logistics' 2618.HK May 2021 float which raised $3.6 billion, Dealogic data showed. If the overallotment is exercised it would be the largest since Kuaishou Technology 1024.HK raised $6.2 billion in January 2021.

Its offering follows one from automaker Chery this week that aims to raise up to $1.2 billion.

Hong Kong has seen total funds raised from new listings reach $18.5 billion so far this year, exceeding 2024's full-year figure of $11.3 billion, Dealogic data showed. Booming demand for Chinese AI and tech stocks has seen a raft of Chinese companies listed in the mainland also sell shares in Hong Kong.

Zijin Gold said in the prospectus that it is planning to use the proceeds over the next five years to upgrade existing mines.

It added that it expects global gold demand to grow steadily at a compound annual growth rate of 3.2% from 2024 to 2030.

Cornerstone investors have subscribed to about $1.6 billion worth of shares, according to the prospectus.

Singapore wealth fund GIC GIC.UL and private equity firm Hillhouse will each buy $150 million worth of shares while asset managers BlackRock BLK.N and Schroders SDR.L will each take $120 million worth.

A wholly owned unit of industry peer Zhaojin Mining 1818.HK has also subscribed to $30 million worth of shares.

Morgan Stanley and CITIC Securities are the joint sponsors of the offering.

Zijin Mining's shares in Shenzhen rose 0.8% while its shares in Hong Kong rose 0.5% in Friday afternoon trade.

($1 = 7.7771 Hong Kong dollars)