Hong Kong conglomerate Hutchison Whampoa was finally granted a waiver by HKEx HK Exchanges and Clearing yesterday Thursday, paving the way for a $2 billion IPO of its telecommunications assets.
Back in March, Hutch announced plans to spin off a variety of its telecommunications assets in a two stage listing process under the umbrella of Hutchison Telecom International Ltd HTIL. It proposed listing the parent company in Hong Kong and New York, then spinning off the Indian cellular businesses through a separate domestic listing within a two-year timeframe.
Until about a week ago, the prospective offering looked as if it was going to run...