| Winsway Coking Coal Holdings Limited (Winsway), a British Virgin Islands company principally engaged in supplying and transporting Mongolian coking coal into China, has announced plans for its HK$5.1 billion (US$661 million) global offering on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange (HKSE). Winsway will be the first BVI company to list in Hong Kong since the HKSE approved the listing of BVI-incorporated companies in December 2009. Trading of Winsway’s shares on the Main Board of the Exchange is proposed to commence on 11 October 2010. Deutsche Bank and Goldman Sachs are the joint sponsors and joint global coordinators for the global offering.
Maples and Calder acted as the offshore counsel to Winsway in respect of the listing. The firm also played a central role in facilitating HKSE’s acceptance of BVI as a jurisdiction for listing purposes by submitting an application to the HKSE for in-principle recognition in 2009. As part of the application, it also assisted the HKSE in its review of BVI shareholder protection standards. John Trehey, the partner who led the deal, commented, “The listing of Winsway demonstrates the streamlined listing process for BVI-incorporated companies, which has helped increase the attractiveness of a Hong Kong listing as the exit strategy for investors, in particular, for private equity. BVI-incorporated companies no longer need to undertake a significant and expensive pre-listing restructuring.” Restructuring to change the jurisdiction of incorporation of the holding company can increase the costs of a listing by anything from 30 percent to more than 100 percent. |
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