Approval for an IPO could take two or three years, while a backdoor listing would require more than a year, Wang said in an exclusive interview with Reuters.

Shareholders of the Hong Kong-listed real estate firm last week approved a buy-out offer that would see the firm privatized. The company said earlier this month it planned to de-list from the Hong Kong stock exchange on Sept. 20.

(Reporting By Matthew Miller and Shu Zhang; Editing by Alex Richardson)