China Steel Corp (中鋼), the nation’s biggest steelmaker, will seek to raise as much as US$743.53 million by issuing 37.8 million global depositary receipts (GDRs) — each of which represents 20 China Steel common shares — at an average price of US$19.67.
In a stock exchange filing yesterday, the Siaogang District (小港), Greater Kaohsiung-based company said it would use the proceeds from the GDR sale to fund the procurement of raw materials overseas.
China Steel said it would issue the GDR on Aug. 1 and it would be traded on the Luxembourg Stock Exchange.
With the pricing of each GDR equivalent to NT$28.32 per common share (based on an exchange rate of NT$28.793 against the US dollar), the new shares are being sold at a 4.49 percent discount from China Steel’s closing price of NT$29.65 on Tuesday.
China Steel shares closed 1.52 percent higher yesterday at NT$30.1.
Analysts said the company might use part of the proceeds to fund a second blast furnace at Dragon Steel Corp (中龍), a China Steel unit based in Longjing District (龍井), Greater Taichung. The new furnace is under construction and is scheduled to start production in 2013.
The company might also use the proceeds to support its expansion plans for cold-rolled coils, which are used mainly in the automotive industry, as well as to make strategic investments in global mining companies that would help the firm secure a steady supply of raw materials, such as iron ore and coking coal, Citigroup Global Markets said in a note on July 18.
China Steel yesterday downplayed the potential share dilution caused by the GDR issue, saying instead the funds raised would help strengthen its balance sheet.
Citigroup estimated the potential dilution at about 6 percent, while Daiwa Capital Markets predicted a 5.9 percent dilution to its earnings per share over the next two years.
COMPETITION: AMD, Intel and Qualcomm are unveiling new laptop and desktop parts in Las Vegas, arguing their technologies provide the best performance for AI workloads Advanced Micro Devices Inc (AMD), the second-biggest maker of computer processors, said its chips are to be used by Dell Technologies Inc for the first time in PCs sold to businesses. The chipmaker unveiled new processors it says would make AMD-based PCs the best at running artificial intelligence (AI) software. Dell has decided to use the chips in some of its computers aimed at business customers, AMD executives said at CES in Las Vegas on Monday. Dell’s embrace of AMD for corporate PCs — it already uses the chipmaker for consumer devices — is another blow for Intel Corp as the company
STIMULUS PLANS: An official said that China would increase funding from special treasury bonds and expand another program focused on key strategic sectors China is to sharply increase funding from ultra-long treasury bonds this year to spur business investment and consumer-boosting initiatives, a state planner official told a news conference yesterday, as Beijing cranks up fiscal stimulus to revitalize its faltering economy. Special treasury bonds would be used to fund large-scale equipment upgrades and consumer goods trade-ins, said Yuan Da (袁達), deputy secretary-general of the Chinese National Development and Reform Commission. “The size of ultra-long special government bond funds will be sharply increased this year to intensify and expand the implementation of the two new initiatives,” Yuan said. Under the program launched last year, consumers can
Citigroup Inc and Bank of America Corp said they are leaving a global climate-banking group, becoming the latest Wall Street lenders to exit the coalition in the past month. In a statement, Citigroup said while it remains committed to achieving net zero emissions, it is exiting the Net-Zero Banking Alliance (NZBA). Bank of America said separately on Tuesday that it is also leaving NZBA, adding that it would continue to work with clients on reducing greenhouse gas emissions. The banks’ departure from NZBA follows Goldman Sachs Group Inc and Wells Fargo & Co. The largest US financial institutions are under increasing pressure
FUTURE TECH: Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang would give the keynote speech at this year’s Consumer Electronics Show, which is also expected to highlight autonomous vehicles Gadgets, robots and vehicles imbued with artificial intelligence (AI) would once again vie for attention at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) this week, as vendors behind the scenes would seek ways to deal with tariffs threatened by US president-elect Donald Trump. The annual Consumer Electronics Show opens formally in Las Vegas tomorrow, but preceding days are packed with product announcements. AI would be a major theme of the show, along with autonomous vehicles ranging from tractors and boats to lawn mowers and golf club trollies. “Everybody is going to be talking about AI,” Creative Strategies Inc analyst Carolina Milanesi said. “From fridges to ovens
RSS