Gold miner Shanjin said to pick banks for Hong Kong listing

Shanjin International Gold Co. has picked banks for a Hong Kong listing, according to people familiar with the matter, as the Chinese miner seeks to take advantage of high bullion prices.

The unit of state-backed Shandong Gold Mining Co. is working with Citic Securities Co., China International Capital Corp. and UBS Group AG on the planned share sale, the people said, asking not to be identified because the information isn’t public.

Deliberations over details such as the size and timing of the listing are ongoing, the people said.

Shandong Gold said in a Thursday statement to the Hong Kong bourse that Shanjin International’s board had approved the listing to facilitate the development of its business overseas and expand financing channels.

Representatives for Citic and UBS declined to comment, while CICC and Shanjin didn’t immediately respond to requests seeking comment.

Zijin Mining Group Co. is also seeking to list its overseas gold business. A haven asset in times of geopolitical tension and uncertainty, gold has rallied close to 30% this year.

Shanjin International has climbed 24% in Shenzhen this year, giving it a market capitalization of 53 billion yuan ($7.4 billion).

(By Pei Li, Julia Fioretti and Chongjing Li)