A$5-bn rail float gets Queensland's nod

The Queensland government is gearing up for Australia's largest initial public offering (IPO) since Telstra in 2006, by giving its go ahead to state-owned Queensland Rail National (QR National) for a float of over A$5-billion.

While launching the pre-registration phase of the company's share offer, yesterday at the famous 'Gabba' cricket ground in Brisbane, Queensland treasurer Andrew Fraser said: ''Today, at one Queensland icon, we officially begin the process that will see another Queensland icon become one of Australia's top 50 companies.''

''QR National is a big Queensland company that is destined to get even bigger, which is why any Queensland residents who register and then take part in the share offer will receive a priority allocation,'' Fraser further said.

QR National is Australia's largest rail freight company and the world's largest rail transporter of coal. In 2009-10, QR National transported more than 260 million tonnes of freight, including coal, iron ore, other minerals, agricultural products and general freight. The rail operator is expected to be one of the 50 largest companies on the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX).

The treasurer urged interested participants to get online and register for the QR National's share offer document to be released on 10 October 2010.

Retail investors will be offered incentives including discounted share price compared to institutional investors, loyalty bonus shares for holding their shares for a specified period of time, no brokerage fees etc.