CHINA

Stock Offering in the United States Planned: China dramatically underlined its economic reform policies last week when a state-owned business announced plans to become the first Chinese company to sell shares in the United States and to list on the New York Stock Exchange. Brilliance China Automotive, a Bermuda-based company with a majority stake in mini-bus manufacturer Shenyang Automotive, plans to raise $70 million to $80 million through an initial public offering. The move is designed to establish a precedent for equity fund-raising by state-owned Chinese businesses in Western capital markets. The Chinese could have chosen easier equity-raising routes--for example, a private placement with large U.S. institutional investors--but felt that a public offering would be the best means to test the Western market. First Boston, the U.S. investment bank managing the offering, is also planning to offer part of the issue in London and Zurich.