Sept. 20 (Bloomberg) -- Bosideng International, which owns China's top-selling down-clothing brand, may raise as much as HK$6.53 billion ($838 million) from a Hong Kong initial public offering, three people with direct knowledge of the sale said.

The company and HSBC Holdings Plc's private equity arm plan to offer 1.99 billion shares, equivalent to a 25 percent stake, at between HK$2.56 and HK$3.28 a share, said the people who declined to be identified before an official statement.

Chinese consumer companies have raised $5 billion in Hong Kong IPOs this year as they expand to meet rising domestic demand after the world's fourth-largest economy expanded 11.9 percent in the second quarter from a year earlier, the fastest pace in more than 12 years. The nation's sales of down clothing grew at an annual average of 25 percent between 2004 and 2006, according to DBS Group Holdings Ltd.

``Bosideng will remain the market leader in China as I don't see any competitors catching up with it in the near term,'' said Vicky Lin, an analyst at CSC Securities Hong Kong Ltd. ``The down-apparel market is quite fragmented.''

The range of the IPO values Bosideng, based in China's eastern coastal province of Jiangsu and 12 percent owned by HSBC's private equity arm, at HK$25.9 billion, or as much as 21 times its estimated 2008 earnings, the people said.

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and Morgan Stanley are arranging the sale.

Officials in Bosideng's head office couldn't immediately be reached. Connie Ling, a Goldman Sachs spokeswoman in Hong Kong, and Nick Footitt, a Morgan Stanley spokesman, declined to comment.

Village Beginnings

Bosideng traces its roots to 1975, when its now 55-year- old Chairman Gao Dekang founded a clothing business with 11 villagers, according to the DBS report.

Bosideng is selling 94 percent of the shares on offer in the IPO, the people said. HSBC's private equity unit is offering the rest, they said.

Bosideng, whose ``Snow Flying,'' ``Bosideng'' and ``Kangbo'' brands commanded a 36 percent share of the Chinese down apparel market last year, is looking to enlarge its 6,844- store domestic distribution network and explore international expansion, the DBS report on Sept. 8 said.

Its main Bosideng brand has been the top-selling down garment brand by sales for 12 years since its launch in 1994, with a 24 percent market share last year, the report said. Down clothing uses feathers for insulation.

To contact the reporter on this story: Bei Hu in Hong Kong at bhu5@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: September 19, 2007 22:57 EDT