(Bloomberg) -- Chinese solar power equipment company Longi Green Energy Technology Co. has selected China International Capital Corp. for a sale of global depository receipts in Switzerland, according to people familiar with the matter.

The Shanghai-listed firm could sell GDRs in Zurich as soon as in the first half of next year, the people said, asking not to be identified as the information is private. Longi, the world’s biggest solar company by market capitalization, said in an exchange filing last month that it could sell the GDR equivalent of as much as 8% of its outstanding shares, which would be nearly $4 billion worth, according to Bloomberg calculations. 

The company could decide to sell less than that depending on market conditions, the people said. 

Deliberations are ongoing, details could change and more banks could be added later, the people said. Representatives for CICC and Longi declined to comment.

At $4 billion, Longi’s Swiss GDR offering would be the biggest by a Chinese company since the country’s regulators started encouraging its firms to consider selling shares there, as policy uncertainties and geopolitical tensions make listings in the US more difficult. 

China’s securities regulator said in February that the Shanghai-London Stock Connect, which allows companies that are listed on one exchange to offer depositary receipts on the other, would be extended to include firms listed in Switzerland, Germany and Shenzhen.

Four Chinese firms including battery makers GEM Co. and Gotion High-Tech Co. raised about $1.5 billion in total in Swiss listings in July. While the debuts opened the gate for more GDR sales, they were met with muted trading.

Founded in 2000, Longi has nearly 50,000 employees and holds almost 1,400 patents, its website shows. The company is among several Chinese manufacturers whose products have been detained by US Customs beginning last year, after the US banned some solar material from Xinjiang due to alleged human rights abuses. China’s foreign ministry has repeatedly denied claims of forced labor, labeling them as an attempt to undercut its businesses.  

--With assistance from Luz Ding.

©2022 Bloomberg L.P.