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Nasdaq listing candidate Intra-Asia Entertainment, which operates the largest amusement park in Shandong province, plans to raise net proceeds of up to US$11.2 million through its initial public offering this month.

The company has an 85 per cent stake in Weifang Fuhua Amusement Park.

It will offer 1.4 million new shares - about 33 per cent of the company's enlarged issue capital - at between US$8 and US$10, according to its listing prospectus. The company expects to raise net proceeds of between US$9.5 million and US$11.2 million.

Director and founder Stanley Wu said it was the first mainland amusement park to seek a Nasdaq listing.

The company preferred to float on Nasdaq instead of in Hong Kong because of rising international interest in mainland entertainment operations.

The company, a combination of Chinese operations and United States management, aims to provide a channel for investors to tap opportunities from China's World Trade Organisation entry and the 2008 Olympic Games.

To raise buying interest, its price-earnings ratio was set at about 20, compared with a Nasdaq average of 47, Mr Wu said.

President Michael Demetrios said the park, which attracted 1.18 million visitors last year, had generated profit since opening in April 1994.

The company's profit for the nine months to September 30 dropped 40.86 per cent to US$442,603, due to a provision of US$881,205 for loss incurred from the closure of its outdoor water park.

Mr Demetrios said the company was in the final stage of building China's largest indoor water park to replace the old one.

He projected net earnings of about US$1.15 million for the year to December 31 last year, up 96 per cent from the previous year.

He believed the new water park, due to open this summer, would attract more visitors.

The IPO proceeds would be used to build the water park as part of its expansion into adjacent land with a site area of about 10 hectares, the prospectus said.

Part of the proceeds would be used to build more rides and enhance the park's dining facilities.

The company also planned to expand by acquiring undervalued assets throughout East Asia. Market sources said it was in talks to acquire amusement parks in Chongqing, Beijing, Tokyo and South Korea.

An agreement to acquire an amusement park in Chongqing for US$15 million would be signed by the end of the year, the sources said.

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