China Daily reported that Huaibei Mining Group Co Ltd one of the 13 national coal production bases in China will complete its domestic initial public offering to raise CNY 8.5 billion by the end of 2011.

The company plans to sell 2.2 billion shares on the Shanghai Stock Exchange. It will use the money to fund two coal preparation plants and a project to upgrade excavation equipment.

Mr Shao Hua assistant to the general manager of the company said they have submitted the necessary documents are awaiting government approval of the IPO.

He said that "The IPO process will take longer than we expected because of the preparation of documents for the Ministry of Environmental Protection."

Mr Wang told China Daily that the company doesn't plan to invest in foreign coal mines in the next five years even after the completion of the IPO.

He said that "Honestly, we have tried to expand our business abroad. I researched possibilities in Indonesia, Mongolia and Australia, but the regulations and political environments are very different from those in China. Doing business abroad is still hard for us."

Mr Wang Mingsheng president of the company said "I am confident in the final outcome of our listing because we are doing well in production, sales and management. However, he declined to disclose details about the share pricing.”

However, because of the decreasing coal resources in Anhui province where the company is located, Huaibei Mining has been working on developing new coal mines outside the province.

The company will explore up to 5.8 billion tonnes of coal resources at the Shaanxi Fugu Gucheng coal mine in Shaanxi province and Nalin River in Erdos in the Inner Mongolia autonomous region, cooperating with Shaanxi Fugu Gucheng Great Wall Building Co and Chery Automobile Co Ltd.

(Sourced from China Daily)