SINO Gas & Energy will be the latest Perth-based company to test investor appetite for initial public offerings as the number of companies with listing aspirations starts to increase.
SINO Gas & Energy will be the latest Perth-based company to test investor appetite for initial public offerings as the number of companies with listing aspirations starts to increase.
After having been largely absent this calendar year, IPOs are expected to make a return this financial year, as forecast by accounting firm KPMG in its latest financial markets snapshot.
It follows a dismal fiscal 2009, with IPOs raising less than $300 million from 30 companies, half from Western Australia.
Sino Gas & Energy has already received the financial backing of Patersons Securities to the amount of $6.8 million.
The company this week opened its one-for-three rights issue, which is expected to raise up to $9.8 million.
Sino Gas & Energy will also raise a further $500,000 through its IPO that will issue 2 million shares at 25 cents each.
Since it was established in 2005, Sino has raised more than $31 million through a mixture of debt and equity through placements, convertible notes and loans.
So far the company's largest shareholder is mining services company Imdex, with its managing director Bernie Ridgeway also a non-executive director on Sino's board.
Leading the company is managing director Stephen Lyons, while former Chevron China managing director Sam Snyder is the non-executive chairman.
The company is currently focused on the development of its tight gas project in China's Ordos Basin, the country's second largest onshore oil and gas basin. The project had initially been held as a joint venture with Chevron, however Sino is in the process of assuming 100 per cent ownership.
Should Sino raise the total $9.8 million from the rights issue, it plans to allocate $8.4 million towards the exploration program during 2009-10.
The company is expected to list on August 28.
Meantime, Triton Gold plans to list on August 10 with its $6.5 million IPO due to close this week.
In June, the company struck a deal with Poseidon Nickel to buy its WA gold rights in exchange for $300,000 cash and the issue of 9 million shares.
Several listed WA companies have also flagged their intention to vend their non-core assets into new spin-off subsidiaries.
Momentum is building for Korab Resources' Uranium Australia, which is fielding requests from several brokers keen to underwrite the $6 million IPO.
Golden West Resources last week flagged its intention to demerge its non-iron assets into a new company while Kagara is preparing an IPO to vend its gold assets into a new firm.
