Chery Automobile Co is seeking to raise as much as HK$9.1 billion ($1.2 billion) in an initial public offering in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, kicking off what’s shaping up to be a busy final stretch to the year for big listings in the financial hub.

The Chinese mainland’s biggest car exporter is offering 297.4 million shares at HK$27.75 to HK$30.75 each, according to its listing document on Wednesday. Trading is set to begin Sept 25.

Chery joins the barrage of mainland firms going public in the HKSAR, where listing proceeds have soared to a four-year high. Zijin Gold International Co could soon follow, with the mining giant preparing an IPO in the city that may fetch more than $3 billion, the biggest such deal in the world since May.

Billion-dollar deals are trudging ahead in the HKSAR after a brief summer lull, building on a surge by mainland companies that are raising cash to fund expansions abroad and meet capital needs in an intensifying artificial-intelligence competition.

China International Capital Corp, Huatai Securities Co, GF Securities Co and Citic Securities Co are overall coordinators of the IPO.

Hillhouse Investment and other cornerstone investors, which get allocated shares in exchange for holding on to them for at least six months, agreed to buy about $587 million in Chery stock.

READ MORE: Chinese automaker Chery seeks to go public in Hong Kong

Chery, which assembles Jaguars and Land Rovers on the mainland, said it plans to plow the proceeds toward research and development, overseas expansion and factory upgrades.

The deal could be enlarged should a greenshoe option be exercised if demand is high enough, according to the document.