China’s Smithfield Investors Look to Hong Kong for IPO

Jul 18, 2013

Source Says Smithfield Plans to List Company in Hong Kong Stock Exchange after Takeover

By Amanda Brodhagen, Farms.com

China’s Smithfield Foods Inc. bidders - Shuanghui International Holdings may list the company in Hong Kong if the proposed takeover goes through. Knowledge of this planned move was first reported by Reuters who obtained the information from an anonymous source.

The greater appetite for risk in Hong Kong would allow the new company to achieve a higher market capitalization in its IPO, compared to for example the New York Stock Exchange, where Smithfield is currently listed.

Hong Kong is an established international trade centre - its free market economy provides a reliable exit route for investors overseas if and when they decide to sell their holdings. These companies include Goldman Sachs and New Horizons.

Smithfield said it was not aware and would not speculate if the combined company’s rumoured plan is to list in the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. The value of the deal was pegged at $7.1-billion, including debt.

Video: Evolution of Beef Cattle Farming

The Clear Conversations podcast took to the road for a special episode recorded in Nashville during CattleCon, bringing listeners straight into the heart of the cattle industry. Host Tracy Sellers welcomed rancher Steve Wooten of Beatty Canyon Ranch in Colorado for a wide-ranging discussion that blended family history and sustainability, particularly as it relates to the future of beef production.

Sustainability emerged as a central theme of the conversation, a word that Wooten acknowledges can mean very different things depending on who you ask. For him, sustainability starts with the soil. Healthy soil produces healthy grass, which supports efficient cattle capable of producing year after year with minimal external inputs. It’s an approach that equally considers vegetation, animal efficiency, and long-term profitability.

That philosophy aligned naturally with Wooten’s involvement in the U.S. Roundtable for Sustainable Beef, where he served as a representative for the Colorado Cattlemen’s Association. The roundtable brings together the entire beef supply chain—from producers to retailers—along with universities, NGOs, and allied industries. Its goal is not regulation, Wooten emphasized, but collaboration, shared learning, and continuous improvement.