By PRUDENCE HO and YVONNE LEE

HONG KONG -- China's oil giant China Petrochemical Corp., known as Sinopec Group, is planning an initial public offering in Hong Kong for its newly-formed refining and petrochemical engineering unit in the second quarter of 2013, which could raise around $1.5 billion, four people with direct knowledge of the matter said Wednesday.

Beijing-based Sinopec Engineering Co., which was set up in September with a registered capital of 3.1 billion yuan ($500 million), is hoping that a Hong Kong listeing could raise its profile in the international market, as it strives to secure more overseas engineering and construction projects, one of the people said.

Sinopec Engineering was created through the consolidation of eight construction and engineering subsidiaries. It has undertaken engineering projects in Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kazakhstan, Nigeria, Singapore, Bangladesh.

The company has hired Citic Securities Co., JP Morgan Chase & Co. and UBS to handle the offering, the people said.

Dow Jones Newswires