UPDATE 1-Chinese liquor company ZJLD set to price Hong Kong IPO near bottom of range - sources
(Adds ZJLD decline to comment in third paragraph)
By Scott Murdoch
SYDNEY, April 20 (Reuters) - Chinese liquor company ZJLD Group is set to price its Hong Kong initial public offering (IPO) at HK$10.82 per share, two people with knowledge of the matter said, in a deal that would see the company raising HK$5.3 billion ($675.2 million).
The company, which accounts for 69.5% of the alcoholic beverage market in China and is backed by U.S. private equity giant KKR & Co Inc, was offering about 490.7 million shares in a price range of HK$10.78 to HK$12.98 each.
ZJLD declined to comment on the expected pricing.
ZJLD makes baijiu, a colourless distilled spirit popular across China. Baijiu is considered China's national liquor and is the world's most consumed liquor, according to ZJLD's prospectus.
The IPO is the largest in Hong Kong so far in 2023 with the city's new share sales hit by global financial market volatility prompted by rising interest rates and banking sector turmoil.
Dealmakers are hopeful a positive performance when ZJLD stock starts trading on April 27 could prompt more IPOs in the near future.
Some are pinning their hopes on Alibaba Group's announcement it will spin off six of its businesses into stand alone entities will help revive Hong Kong's IPO fortunes.
($1 = 7.8496 Hong Kong dollars) (Reporting by Scott Murdoch Editing by Sumeet Chatterjee and Mark Potter)
