Sinopec Unit in Talks With Cornerstone Investors

Sinopec Engineering (Group) Co., a construction and engineering arm of oil giant China Petrochemical Corp., is in talks with at least three Chinese cornerstone investors for its up to $2.7 billion Hong Kong initial public offering, people with direct knowledge of the deal said Tuesday.

The cornerstone investors include China Aerospace Science and Technology Corp., a state-owned maker of aerospace products, and insurer People's Insurance Co. (Group) of China Ltd., the people said. The company is in talks to sell 30% to 40% of the offering to cornerstone investors.

Cornerstone investors are guaranteed large allotments in an IPO in exchange for agreeing to hold the shares for a certain length of time. The participation of cornerstone investors in a share sale helps to boost investor confidence in the deal at a time of volatile markets.

Sinopec Engineering, which is gauging investor interest in the offering, is looking to raise between $2.1 billion and $2.7 billion by selling 1.328 billion shares, or 30% of its enlarged share capital. The company is scheduled to take orders from investors Monday and to list May 23.

The planned IPO would be the largest in Hong Kong since People's Insurance Co. (Group) of China Ltd. raised $3.6 billion in November, and could help reverse the city's IPO fortunes. Once the source of the world's biggest IPOs globally, Hong Kong fell to the fourth spot last year and isn't among the top five this year.