Shuanghui International Holdings reportedly tapped several banks in anticipation for its planned initial public listing on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. The owner of Smithfield Foods Inc was aiming to raise USD6 billion to return equity to investors and pay debt. China's biggest and oldest private equity firm CDH had wanted to exit from the Chinese firm for the longest time.

The banks hired by Shuanghui, said sources, were Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, Standard Chartered, UBS, BOC International and Citic Securities International. This was earlier reported by Thomson Reuters publication IFR. However, a separate source said that the bank line-up was not yet final.

KGI Securities Anson Chan said about Shuanghui's upcoming IPO, "The IPO will give a platform for existing shareholders to cash out of their investments, but it will have limited impact on the operations of the company. But the IPO will be a milestone in Shuanghui's journey from a local company to an international food company, which underscores the maturing of China's food industry."

A Shuanghui representative did not provide a comment to the report, electing company policy as the reason for doing so.