China's first high-speed rail company launches IPO to raise over $5 billion

The listing adds to signs that China is pushing to further open industries dominated by state-owned companies.

The operator of China’s high-speed rail line between Beijing and Shanghai kicked off its initial public offering, which will for the first time allow investors to buy shares in what is the world’s largest such network.
 
Beijing-Shanghai High-Speed Railway Co., a unit of state-owned China Railway Corp., plans to sell as many as 6.3 billion new shares, or 12.8% of enlarged capital, through the listing in Shanghai, according to its prospectus released Wednesday. Book building for the IPO will begin Jan. 6, it said. The company didn’t say how much it aimed to raise through the sale.
 
The