One impending float worth watching out for is Asian Citrus Holdings, China’s largest operator of orange plantations. The group, founded by chairman Tony Tong, a Hong Kong-based entrepreneur, is planning to raise £15m through an Evolution Securities-led placing to assist its growth plans. The funding will value the group at circa £80m after new money.

Asian Citrus has two plantations that cover roughly 6,800 hectares, an area the size of Guernsey. Its original plantation is situated in Hepu region of the Guangxi Zhuang region of China, whilst a second is under development in the Xinfeng region of Jiangxi province.

Asian Citrus’ plantations cultivate two types of orange – winter oranges and summer oranges – rather than the Mandarin oranges typically grown in China. Its produce is aimed solely at the domestic Chinese market, and is sold to corporate customers and wholesalers. Tong’s ambition is to set up an orange wholesaler and retailer network with a national brand name.

As the standard of living in China improves, Tong says orange consumption will grow. He claims demand is currently outstripping supply, a situation that will continue for the foreseeable future. Asian Citrus is already extremely profitable. In the year to 30 June ‘04, pre-tax profits came in at £10.9m on sales of £18.2m, up from £8.6m off a top line £12.2m the year before. The company apparently generates plenty of cash and has high operating margins.