Major railway IPO expected next year

The Chinese government has hired three banks to handle the public listing of a railway holding company, Reuters reported, citing a source familiar with the matter. Although the name of the holding company could not be revealed, the initial public offering is expected to be worth roughly US$5 billion. Beijing has enlisted China International Capital Corp, J.P. Morgan and Macquarie to arrange the expected IPO next year of a company that controls the rail link between Shanghai and Beijing, the source said. It is also expected that a significant amount of operational restructuring will need to take place before the railway company can be listed.