Chinese flooring firm eyes $150 mln US IPO -paper

HONG KONG, March 26 (Reuters) - Chinese solid wood flooring maker Shanghai Anxin Flooring plans to raise about US$150 million in an initial public offering in New York in the third quarter at the earliest, a Hong Kong newspaper reported on Monday.

The South China Morning Post citied sources as saying the flooring firm had yet to decide whether to list on the New York Stock Exchange or the Nasdaq Stock Market.

Shanghai Anxin, in which U.S. private equity firm Carlyle Group bought a stake in May, has an annual production capacity of 3.5 million square metres of wood flooring. It operates more than 400 retail outlets in China by franchise.

The paper gave no further listing details. (US$1=HK$7.8)