Sentury IPO to fund aircraft tire project halted

Qingdao, China – Qingdao Sentury Tire Co. Ltd's IPO review was terminated on 16 Jan according to a notice by China Securities Regulatory Commission published two days later.

The company first filed its prospectus for listing on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange in April 2018 and updated the filing in September.

The prospectus shows that Sentury planned to raise capital for its ongoing aircraft tire project in Qingdao with €41 million (314 million yuan) total investment and 80,000 unit/year capacity, including 50,000 unit/year retread tires.

China is expected to have 445,000 unit annual demand for civil and military aircraft tires, said the prospectus.

Sentury was also planning to fund a research center upgrade programme as well as cash flow and loan repayment, respectively with €32 million and €84 million earmarked.

The company could not be reached for comment.

According to the prospectus, over the first half of 2018 Sentury recorded €28 million net profit on €250 million revenue. Of that amount 93% came from overseas markets, including 56% from North America.

The company's smart plant in Thailand, on stream since 2016, accounted for 96% of the total net profit during the period.