jewellery

A Temasek entity reduces its stake in Thailand's Shin Corp for the second time in five months through a $254 million sale, while Luk Fook issues new shares to fund its expansion.

The London-based diamond retailer mandates Credit Suisse, Deutsche Bank, Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley to help with a planned listing in Hong Kong next year, sources say.

The jewellery retailer prices at the bottom and doesn't exercise the upsize option, while Haitong Securities delays the pricing of its H-share IPO until today.

Chow Tai Fook Jewellery, the largest jewellery retailer in Hong Kong and China, has an option to increase the deal by 20%.

At a reduced target of about $3 billion, the deal is set to become the biggest IPO in Hong Kong this year.

Deutsche Bank, Goldman Sachs, HSBC and J.P. Morgan are named global coordinators for the deal, which could raise as much as $4 billion and is expected in the first quarter of 2012.

Demand for gold touched an all-time high of $150 billion last year, buoyed by gold jewellery purchases in India and investment demand in China.

The Hong Kong-based jewellery retailer, which has seen its share price double in recent months, sells the shares at a 12% discount but is able to upsize the deal by 19%.

An apparent change in behaviour by these institutions may be affecting investors' approach to the metal, says the World Gold Council.