UPDATE 1 — Bain — backed renewable fuel maker EcoCeres targets $1 billion Hong Kong IPO, sources say

EcoCeres aims to go public by year-end, sources say Bain plans to sell down part of its stake, sources say Company turns used cooking oil into sustainable aviation fuel (Adds details throughout) By Julie Zhu and Yantoultra Ngui HONG KONG, Sept 24 (Reuters) — EcoCeres, a Hong Kong-based producer of renewable fuels backed by private equity firm Bain Capital, plans to raise about $1 billion in a Hong Kong initial public offering, two people with knowledge of the matter said. The company, whose flagship product is sustainable aviation fuel (SAF), aims to make its market debut in Hong Kong by the end of the year, said the people, who declined to be identified as the information is private. Its main shareholder Bain Capital aims to sell down part of its holding in the planned IPO, they added. A spokesperson for Bain declined to comment. The planned listing would offer one of the clearest public market tests yet of investor appetite for pure-play SAF producers, as airlines and governments worldwide seek to meet ambitious decarbonisation targets for aviation. It also underscores the rapid commercialisation of the SAF industry, which has moved from niche biofuel experiment to strategic prio