SZITIC plans Hong Kong IPO

But hasn't decided when it will hold the IPO.

Chinese shopping mall developer SZITIC Commercial Property Company plans to raise as much as US$1 billion from a planned initial public offering in Hong Kong. SZITIC's IPO could come as soon as the fourth quarter of this year.

Sources said SZITIC hopes to complete it no later than the first quarter of 2014. SZITIC has appointed China International Capital Corp Ltd. and J.P. Morgan Chase JPM & Co. to handle its listing.

SZITIC has developed 10 shopping malls in cities including Beijing, Hangzhou, and Suzhou. In May, it sold a 49% stake in two of its malls to U.S. private-equity firm Carlyle Group as part of a strategic partnership between the two companies.

Chinese property developers' stocks are again gaining favor among investors as real-estate prices rise and home sales on the mainland surge. Shares in the 10 largest Hong Kong-listed Chinese property developers had gained more than 20% on average since late June. Housing sales in China this year were up 40% through July from the same period a year earlier.