Beijing municipality to promote local IPOs

BEIJING - Beijing municipality is in talks with "several" large foreign equity investment institutions, and plans to jointly launch more private equity funds in mid-June 2011 to promote the listing of local companies, said an official with the Beijing Municipal Bureau of Financial Work.

The financial might of new equity funds is expected to exceed the previous 5 billion yuan ($769 million) fund that was jointly launched by the Beijing municipality and Goldman Sachs Group Inc, said Hao Gang, deputy director of the Financial Market Department of the bureau. But Hao declined to reveal the names of the foreign investment institutions.

Similar to the Goldman Sachs' yuan-denominated fund, the new private equity funds may mainly invest in restructuring projects of State-owned companies and support firms in emerging industries, including high-tech and new energy, according to Hao.