By Wang Lan (China Daily)
Updated: 2007-09-01 10:01

Privately owned Hongshi Cement Holding Group reached an agreement with Goldman Sachs on Thursday to sell up to 25 percent, or 600 million yuan (US$79.5 million), of its shares to the US investment bank.

Ni Yuehui, a senior executive at Hongshi Group, said on Friday that the transaction is part of the company's plan to seek a mainland listing. But he said the timetable for the proposed initial public offering is yet to be decided.

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A market listing would help the company raise new capital to fund future development, he said, without giving details of the business plan.

Goldman Sachs, a full-service investment banking and securities firm headquartered in the US, declined to comment on Friday.

Zhejiang-based Hongshi Group is the second-largest cement company and the sixth-largest cement clinker producer in the province. Its annual production capacity has expanded from 1 million tons to 16.5 million tons since it was established in 2002.

With total assets of 3.6 billion yuan, Hongshi controls subsidiaries in provinces including Zhejiang, Jiangxi and Fujian.

Industry analysts said the deal between Hongshi and Goldman Sachs shows that the country's booming cement industry has got the attention of foreign investors. The aggregate output of the cement industry in China is expected to reach 1.2 billion tons, according to the National Development and Reform Commission.

Aggregate profits of the cement industry increased 204.83 percent in 2006 from the previous year, according to the National Bureau of Statistics.