China Tower plans $8b IPO in Hong Kong

China Tower, a joint venture handling mobile infrastructure in Chinese mainland, will list on Hong Kong stock market on Aug 8, aiming to raise HK$68.1 billion ($8 billion) with its initial public offering.

China International Capital Corp and Goldman Sachs Group Inc are joint sponsors for the IPO, and Bank of America Merrill Lynch and JPMorgan are joint global co-ordinators and joint bookrunners.

According to Hong Kong's Ming Pao newspaper, China Tower will offer the dividend payout ratio not lower than 50 percent to scoop up investors.

The firm will issue 43.115 billion shares at between HK$1.26 and HK$1.58 per share, and 95 percent of the share will be sold to international institutions and 5 percent to the public.

According to Financial Times, the IPO has attracted 10 cornerstones that will buy $1.42 billion worth of shares.

Chinese investment firm Hillhouse Capital Group is the biggest buyer that will invest $400 million, followed by New York-listed OZ Management with $300 million. Other investors include Alibaba, China National Petroleum Crop, SAIC and ICBC.

The IPO will be the world's largest since Alibaba raised $25 billion at its IPO in 2004, if China Tower's share price hits its target, Financial Times said.

As China Tower's major shareholders and customers, China's three telecom carriers - China Mobile, China Unicom and China Telecom - will own the stock right respectively at 28.5 percent, 21.1 percent and 20.9 percent after listing.