China Feihe, whose baby milk formula is endorsed by actress Zhang Ziyi, is making a second try at selling shares on the Hong Kong exchange, joining the flock of initial public offerings that have pushed the city past Nasdaq and New York as the world's fundraising hub since September.

Feihe " its name means the "flying crane" in Chinese " is offering 893.34 million shares at between HK$7.50 and HK$10 each, aiming to raise up to HK$8.93 billion (US$1.14 billion), according to the offer document seen by South China Morning Post.

The Beijing-based company started collecting subscriptions on Monday from global investors for 90 per cent of the offering, while 10 per cent of the sale would go to retail investors. The shares will begin trading in Hong Kong on November 13.

The upcoming IPO makes Feihe the fourth offering in Hong Kong to exceed US$1 billion in value, after several companies made U-turns on their earlier hesitation to raise capital in the city. The September 4 announcement by Hong Kong's Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor to withdraw her unpopular and controversial extradition bill put a floor on valuations, even if it failed to dissuade the protesters who continued taking to the streets in shows of defiance against her administration.

A picture of Zhang Ziyi in a China Feihe advertisement. Photo:zz-infos.com alt=A picture of Zhang Ziyi in a China Feihe advertisement. Photo:zz-infos.com

The top end of Feihe's fundraising plan would make the Chinese company the third-biggest IPO in Hong Kong this year, coming after Budweiser Brewing Company APAC's US$5.8 billion offer last month and ESR Cayman's US$1.6 billion sale last week. Chinese sportswear manufacturer Topsports International Holdings also expects to raise US$1 billion after pricing earlier this month.

Feihe, founded in north-eastern China's Heilongjiang province in 1962, has the biggest market share for baby milk formula and infants' milk in the world's most populous nation, with 15.6 per cent of the market as of 2018, according to research firm Frost & Sullivan.

The world's largest IPO destinations as of September 27, 2019. Source: Refinitiv. SCMP Graphics alt=The world's largest IPO destinations as of September 27, 2019. Source: Refinitiv. SCMP Graphics

Feihe's first-half net profit rose 61 per cent to 1.75 billion yuan, while revenue increased 34.5 per cent to 5.89 billion yuan through its 109,000 retail points of sale. Brands in its portfolio include Astrobaby and Organic Zhenzhi, while it also manufactures and sells adult milk powders, liquid milk products, goat milk infant formula and soybean powder.