Hutchison unit set for $6 b S’pore listing, biggest in SE Asia

HONG KONG/SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Hutchison Whampoa Ltd plans to spin off a unit, in a move that could help it raise $6 billion and expand its port and infrastructure portfolio.

The listing by Hutchison, a ports-to-telecom conglomerate owned by Hong Kong tycoon Li Ka-shing, will also allow the Singapore stock exchange to strengthen its foothold in the listing of trust-like companies, such as real estate investment trusts (REITs), in Asia, which saw some of the biggest IPOs last year.

“Hutchison is actually listing a business trust, which I believe is not supported by the Hong Kong exchange,” said Roger Tan, head of research at SIAS Research in Singapore.

“The SGX (Singapore stock exchange), on the other hand, already has a number of business trusts listed in Singapore and as such is ready to support Hutchison’s Trust,” he said.

Hutchison proposes to spin off Hutchison Port Holdings Trust in a separate listing in Singapore, it said in a filing with the Hong Kong stock exchange.

The key assets of Hutchison Port are deep-water container port operations in Hong Kong and Guangdong province.

Hutchison Port’s listing will be completed by March and will allow the unit to raise $6 billion, sources told IFR, a Thomson Reuters publication.

That will make it the largest listing in southeast Asia and Singapore. So far, the biggest listing in southeast Asia is Malaysia’s Petronas Chemicals, which raised $4.1 billion last year.

In Singapore, Singapore Telecommunications’ S$4 billion ($3 billion) float in 1993 was the biggest listing.

“I think it would be positive for the stock market volume and therefore favourable for the Singapore stock exchange,” said Jit Soon Lim, head of equities research for Nomura in Singapore.

Lim said the listing will also help the Singapore exchange’s position as the bourse for shipping and offshore stocks.

The proposal is subject to the approval of the Singapore stock exchange, the Monetary Authority of Singapore, the Hong Kong stock exchange and the company’s board.

Hutchison has hired joint bookrunners and joint issue managers DBS, Deutsche Bank AG and Goldman Sachs (Singapore), to apply for the Singapore listing.In 2009, Hutchison Whampoa posted a net profit of HK$14.168 billion, a 12 percent rise from a year earlier. Hutchison Port’s profit attributable to the company totalled HK$1.827 billion ($234 million) in 2009, down from HK$2.109 billion in 2008.