(Bloomberg) -- Guangzhou Sunda International Trading Co., a supplier of personal care products mainly in Africa, is considering an initial public offering in Hong Kong that could raise $100 million to $200 million, according to people with knowledge of the matter.
The company is working with China International Capital Corp. and Citic Securities Co. on a first-time share sale that may take place in early 2025, the people said, asking not to be identified as the information is private.
Representatives for Sunda and CICC didn’t respond to a request for comment. Citic Securities declined to comment.
Sunda’s products include diapers, hygiene and personal care items and home building materials such as ceramics. The company has subsidiaries in several African countries, including Cameroon, Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia, as well as Peru in South America, its website shows.
In an interview last year with China Investment Magazine, Sunda’s chairman and founder Shen Yanchang said he made business contacts while working in Nigeria in the late 1990s and set up a trading company on his return to China, taking advantage of the popularity of the Canton Fair among African clients.
Sunda later went on to manufacturing and providing products such as sanitary napkins to customers in rural Africa at more affordable prices than those available from the US and Europe, Shen was cited saying in the interview.
About $2.44 billion has been raised in Hong Kong IPOs this year, down roughly 8% from the same period in 2023, data compiled by Bloomberg show. The average size has been about $58 million versus $76 million a year earlier.
--With assistance from Julia Fioretti.
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