Li's Power Assets to spin off HK unit

Li Ka-shing, Asia's richest man, is to spin off his electricity assets in Hong Kong through an initial public offering worth up to HK$27.9 billion ($3.6 billion) and will sell a large chunk to a Chinese state-owned power company, AFP reports. HK Electric Investments -- carved out from Li's Hong Kong-listed utilities firm Power Assets -- will float in Hong Kong on January 29 in what could be one of the biggest listings in the city since 2010. The firm filed a statement with the Hong Kong Stock Exchange late Sunday saying it plans to sell 4.43 billion shares at an indicative price range of HK$5.45-HK$6.30 a piece. It added the shares will provide a dividend yield of 6.26-7.24 percent. Li's utility assets have suffered weak profit growth after the Hong Kong government five years ago capped the rate of return on electricity firms at 9.99 percent from 15 percent. The rate of return pegs the maximum profit the city's electricity companies can make to the value of their fixed assets. State Grid Corporation of China has agreed to buy 18 percent of the new trust, which will have a market capitalisation of between HK$48.2 billion and HK$55.7 billion, the statement said. Sovereign wealth fund the Oman Investment Fund has also agreed to subscribe to 0.7-0.8 percent of HK Electric Investments' available shares. Power Assets said in a statement filed with the city's bourse last month that the trust could be valued in the range of HK$48 billion to approximately HK$63.4 billion. The listing of HK Electric Investments could be the biggest since insurance giant AIA's US$20.5 billion listing in 2010. Shares in Power Assets fell 1.17 percent in morning trade in Hong Kong Monday, closing at HK$59.3 in the Asian financial hub's bourse.