China National Building Material Group Corporation (CNBM), China’s largest building materials manufacturer, plans to raise about 1.2 billion yuan (US$149.1m) in the initial public offering (IPO) on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange at the end of March, sources close to the deal told China Daily. 
 
A company executive refused to elaborate on the IPO, but said the proceeds gained from the listing will be used to fuel its expansion. 
 
 "The company needs to absorb funds in order to catch up with the constantly expanded business scale," said a researcher with a securities firm based in Shenzhen, South China’s Guangdong Province, who declined to be named. 
 
CNBM has passed the hearing of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange on February 24. The US investment bank Morgan Stanley was arranging the sale for the company, sources said. 
 
In 2004, the turnover of CNBM came to 12 billion yuan, and the business income has increased progressively by more than 50 per cent every year in the past 3 years, according to info on the company’s website. 
 
The company has prepared for several years to list its shares in Hong Kong, said the researcher.