Chinese automobile firms are making a beeline to the capital market to raise capital for their expansion plans and to cash in on the vehicle boom in the domestic market.

Industry analysts, however, maintain that the automakers market fate would depend largely on their own profitability.

Battery and automobile maker BYD Co said recently that it is planning to raise capital for new projects through issuance of as many as 100 million A shares on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange.

The country's largest private automaker Chery Automobile Co said last week that it was restarting plans for an A-share IPO as "the current global industry slowdown due to the financial crisis provides Chery with the best opportunity to boost expansion plans by raising capital".

The company refused to disclose where and how much it hoped to raise through the IPO, but said Chery was "qualified" to list due to its strong financials.

Other automobile firms like Great Wall Motor Co, Guangzhou Automobile Group Corp, Lifan Industry (Group) Co Ltd and Brilliance Group are also mulling domestic IPOs.

China lifted the ban on new share listings last month after suspending it for almost a year. The Shanghai Composite Index has jumped nearly 80 percent from 2008, a clear signal of a rebound in the domestic stock market.

Surprisingly there is no automaker among the 34 firms already approved to be listed.

"For automobile manufacturers, IPOs are the best route to raise capital due to the low costs involved," said Ouyang Shan, analyst, Orient Securities.

He said that the government push for industry restructuring through a series of merger and acquisitions has forced automobile firms to shore up capital.

"Profitability is the key for a successful IPO. However, due to the economic slowdown, not too many automakers are capable for IPOs."

Ouyang expressed the view that Guangzhou Auto and Chery could be the first firms to test the market waters due to their robust financial capabilities.

China has surpassed the US as the world's biggest vehicle market for six consecutive months this year as the government's stimulus measures have started yielding positive results.

However, domestic automakers reported steep falls in their earnings despite brisk vehicles sales.

According to statistics collected by Shenyin & Wanguo Securities, in the first quarter, net profit of listed automakers in China fell nearly 60.72 percent year-on-year.

Fortunately, the hot sales in the following months helped the firms to recover some lost ground.

(China Daily July 30, 2009)