HONG KONG, July 4 (Reuters) - Chinese carmaker BAIC MotorCorporation Ltd, part-owned by Daimler AG, has hiredfour banks for a Hong Kong initial public offering worth up to$2 billion.
The company has hired HSBC, CITIC SecuritiesInternational, Deutsche Bank and UBS AG,according to a prospectus filed with the Hong Kong Exchange.
Reuters had earlier reported that Goldman Sachs andMorgan Stanley were also working on the planned listingfor state-backed BAIC Motor.
The planned listing comes as passenger car sales continue togrow in China even as the economy slows. In the first fivemonths of the year, China sold 9.84 million vehicles, up 9percent from a year earlier, according to the China Associationof Automobile Manufacturers.
China's passenger vehicle market is the world's largest andis growing at 14.8 percent a year. Last year, 17.9 million unitswere sold, up from 10 million in 2009, according to All ChinaMarketing Research.
BAIC Motor is the passenger car unit of ambitiousstate-owned Beijing Automotive Group (BAIC). In November,high-end German auto maker Daimler sealed a deal to buy a 12percent stake in BAIC Motor for 640 million euros to boost itsChina presence and secure a foothold before the long-expectedIPO.
BAIC also has a joint venture with South Korea's HyundaiMotor Co, and makes cars under the Mercedes-Benz andHyundai brands.
The listing could fund Beijing Automotive Group's ambitionto join the ranks of SAIC Motor, Dongfeng Group and FAW Group asthe government tries to consolidate the industry and formglobally competitive companies, Reuters previously reported. (Reporting by Stephen Aldred and Norihiko Shirouzu; Editing byMiral Fahmy)
HSBC Holdings (HSBA)
