Guanghui Energy to sell preference shares

Guanghui Energy Co. Ltd. announced its plan to issue preference shares on Friday, making it the first company to make such an announcement after regulators gave the greenlight to the new type of funding. The company said it will sell no more than 50 million shares to raise no more than 5 billion yuan (about 812 million U.S. dollars), according to its statement filed with the Shanghai Stock Exchange. The gas and coal producer said 1.5 billion yuan will be used for a railway project and the rest will supplement its working capital. The company will see its net assets rise to 16.7 billion yuan, and its asset-liability ratio fall to 58.37 percent once the issuance is completed. The shares will have a face value of 100 yuan and the issuance price will be the same as the face value, according to the statement. China is pushing for reforms in the capital market to create more financing channels for companies to boost economic vitality. The China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) decided in March to launch pilot projects on preference shares sales. Preference shares and common shares are the two primary types of stocks that companies offer to investors. Preference share holders have priority rights over ordinary share holders in distribution of profits and residual assets, but they usually do not have voting rights. Boosted by the plan, Guanghui Energy shares rose nearly 5 percent in morning trading. It is widely believed that a number of commercial banks will announce preference stock issuance plans soon following Guanghui Energy's move. The CSRC and the China Banking Regulatory Commission said last week that commercial banks can participate in the pilot program.