Greenland plans backdoor city listing

Shanghai-based Greenland Holding Group Co is seeking to list on the city's stock exchange through an asset swap with a publicly-traded local company, as the property conglomerate steps up investment in the overseas market.

Greenland, one of the biggest state-owned enterprises in Shanghai, will inject assets worth 65.5 billion yuan (US$10.6 billion), or 100 percent of its stake, into Shanghai Jinfeng Investment Co as part of a backdoor listing process, according to a proposal filed with the Shanghai Stock Exchange.

In exchange, Jinfeng will offer 11.3 billion additional shares at 5.58 yuan each to Greenland shareholders in a private placement, according to the proposal.

Shares of Jinfeng surged by the daily maximum of 10 percent to 5.75 yuan yesterday after it resumed trading following a self-imposed suspension since last July.

The listing is likely to make Greenland the first property company to go public on Chinese mainland bourses since 2010 when China's securities regulator suspended listing and refinancing approval for real estate firms in a bid to rein in soaring home prices.

The asset swap plan is still subject to approval from the securities regulator and the state-owned asset authority.

Last year, Greenland completed a backdoor listing on the Hong Kong stock exchange, joining mainland developers hunting for opportunities overseas as regulators cool the red-hot domestic property market.

Greenland, which has made two prominent London acquisitions so far this year, has tapped 11 cities, including London, across seven countries on four continents.

The company plans to reap 20 billion yuan this year from its overseas sales, compared with 3 billion yuan in 2013.