Canada’s Husky Energy plans a dual listing for its Asian assets in Hong Kong and Toronto next year, a move that could raise up to $1 billion.

Husky might award a mandate for sale by the end of this month after meetings with investment banks including JP Morgan, Merrill Lynch, Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs in recent weeks, the South China Morning Post said citing market sources.

The spin-off unit, with a total estimated value of about $4 billion, will sell about 25% to the public, but parent Hutchison Whampoa has yet to make a final decision on the offering, the sources said.

"It (the spinoff) is likely in the future," Hutchison spokeswoman Laura Cheung said. She declined to comment on the newspaper report.

Husky owns seven exploration blocks off the coast of China, and the Liwan field, which is south-east of Hong Kong and is estimated to contain up to 6 trillion cublic feet of natural gas, the newspaper said.

In April, Husky Energy chief executive John Lau said the company planned to spin off its Southeast Asian assets, including the huge Liwan gas field, into a separate company to boost its share value once it saw some economic stability.

The new company would be listed on an Asian stock exchange, have its own management and board, and require little capital from Husky, Lau added.