China Fiber-Maker Preps IPO

China's biggest fiber cable manufacturer, Yangtze Optical Fibre & Cable (YOFC), has applied to list on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.

The Shanghai-based company last year manufactured 30 million kilometers in cable core and posted net earnings of 415 million Yuan Renminbi (US$67 million) on sales of RMB4.9 billion ($790 million). It has net assets of RMB1.5 billion ($243 million) and 400 staff.

The company was founded a dozen years ago by state-backed electronics conglomerate Wuhan Yangtze Communications Industry Group, which now owns a 25% stake.

YOFC's largest shareholders are China Huaxin, which also owns 50% of Alcatel Shanghai Bell Co. Ltd. , and the Italian cable firm Prysmian SpA , both of which hold a 37.5% stake.

— Robert Clark, contributing editor, special to Light Reading