Zijin Mining said to pick banks for gold unit’s Hong Kong listing

China’s Zijin Mining Group Co. has picked Citic Securities Co. and Morgan Stanley for the Hong Kong initial public offering of its overseas gold business as it seeks to take advantage of record bullion prices, according to people familiar with the matter.

Details such as the size and timing of Zijin Gold International Co.’s IPO are under consideration, the people said, asking not to be identified because the information isn’t public.

State-run Zijin said in late April it planned to apply for the spinoff and Hong Kong listing, without providing further details.

Zijin didn’t respond to requests for comment. Representatives for Citic and Morgan Stanley declined to comment.

Gold prices have surged to a record high on the back of the market chaos and uncertainty caused by US President Donald Trump’s trade wars. Speculative demand in China and purchases by central banks have also pushed up prices.

The precious metal hit an all-time high at just above $3,500 an ounce in April.

Zijin isn’t the only one looking to cash in on the rally. Beijing-based jeweler Laopu Gold Co. raised $350 million in an upsized placement Wednesday night, capitalizing on a more than 1,500% surge in its shares since listing in Hong Kong in June 2024. Laopu is the one of the world’s top-performing IPOs in the past 12 months, data compiled by Bloomberg show.

Zijin is one of the world’s largest gold miners, with production of 2.35 million ounces in 2024. Its domestic business alone accounted for a quarter of gold production in China last year.

(By Julia Fioretti and Pei Li)