Biz scene

GRAPEVINE

Pending offering

Sinosteel Corp will submit a plan for an initial public offering (IPO) of yuan-denominated shares after it passes an environmental appraisal, the Shanghai Securities News reported, without citing specific sources.

Environmental authorities are reviewing 26 Sinosteel projects - for which proceeds from the share sale will be used - and 16 polluting steel units, the report said yesterday.

IPO plan

Chinese hotpot restaurant chain firm Little Sheep Group Ltd plans to raise as much as $105.7 million in a Hong Kong initial public offering, Reuters reported yesterday, citing an unnamed source.

The company, in which private equity firm 3i Group Plc holds stake, is selling 224 million shares at HK$2.68-HK$3.68 apiece, it said.

Merrill Lynch and Deutsche Bank are sponsoring the deal.

MARKET

Share price cut

Beijing Yanjing Brewery Corp, China's third-largest beer-maker, cut the minimum price of a planned share sale by 15 percent, citing stock market conditions.

The company plans to sell as many as 110 million shares at no less than 17.88 yuan each in a private offer, it said in a statement to the Shenzhen Stock Exchange yesterday. The share sale is pending approval from shareholders and regulators, it said.

Plant purchases

Aluminum Corp of China Ltd, the nation's biggest producer of the metal, signed an agreement to buy five aluminum-processing plants and a smelter from its parent for 4.2 billion yuan, the company said in a statement to the Shanghai Stock Exchange yesterday.

BIZ UNUSUAL

Trashy website

Upon graduating from Hunan Agriculture University, Shi Jianbo and his girlfriend registered a website for clients to conveniently place orders for waste-collection services.

"My uncles earn their livings collecting waste, so I decided to also enter the business," Shi said. "The website currently generates 1,000 yuan a month, but I expect that will increase as more people become aware of it."

Picture perfect business

Nanjing native Pan Qingxia earns 8,000 yuan per month revitalizing the coloration of faded photos. She scans them into a computer and uses special software to fix the hues. Pan also designs photo albums.

BIZ MOVES

New MD

Hong Kong-listed investment holding company M Dream Inworld Ltd has appointed Li Fanghong as executive director and managing director, effective from May 19.

Former managing director Yu Shu Kuen was appointed as the new chairman. Yu joined the company's board on Jan 30, 2007, as an executive director.

Personnel exodus

Shandong Jiufa Edible Fungus Corp, the sole Shanghai-listed company that hasn't released last year's financial statement yet, is witnessing a personnel exodus at the management level. Jiang Shaoqing, chairman of the board, and Gong Yunke, director and deputy general manager, resigned recently.

The company is deep in the red and is being investigated by regulators.

(China Daily 05/23/2008 page15)