Chinese bullet train operator to delay $5bn dual listing after crash in July
A £3bn listing plan by the operator of China’s new Beijing-Shanghai bullet train, initially targeted for next year, will be further delayed following last month’s deadly train crash, sources said yesterday.
The delay is the latest blow to the nation’s scandal-plagued rail system after China CNR Corp announced last week it would recall 54 bullet trains used on the showcase Beijing-Shanghai line. Services would be cut by 25 per cent.
State-controlled Beijing-Shanghai High-Speed Railway had hoped for an initial public offering (IPO) in Hong Kong and Shanghai as early as in 2012, but any listing is now unlikely in the immediate future.
The 23 July accident, in which 40 people were killed, had further complicated the prospects of receiving regulatory approvals as well as a planned restructuring ahead of the IPO, a source with direct knowledge of the issue said.
“China is not in a hurry to float something, especially after this tragedy,” said the source.