Industrial & Commercial Bank of China(ICBC), China's biggest lender, began taking orders from retail investors Thursday for the Shanghai portion of its initial public offering.
October 19, 2006 (Press Release) --
SHANGHAI, China (AP) -- China's biggest lender, Industrial & Commercial Bank of China, began taking orders from retail investors Thursday for the Shanghai portion of its initial public offering, after reporting strong demand from institutional buyers.
The IPO, held simultaneously with a Hong Kong offering, is expected to raise about $22 billion, the most ever raised in a single share debut anywhere.
Unlike in Hong Kong, where investors lined up by the hundreds to place orders for shares, in Shanghai and elsewhere on the Chinese mainland orders were handled electronically.
Given the strong interest, the state-owned bank is expected to price its shares at the top end of the range specified in its prospectus.
In Hong Kong, several major brokers depleted the capital they had available for margin loans after pledging more than 50 billion Hong Kong dollars ($6.4 billion) to would-be ICBC investors, the Hong Kong newspaper South China Morning Post reported.
ICBC reported receiving some $220 billion in orders for shares set aside for institutional investors, 23 times the amount originally allocated, it said.
The mainland Chinese banks have a long track record of bad debts and lending scandals, but investors have been keen to buy shares, betting that government support will limit risks while allowing them to tap into China's economic boom.
Like the two other major state banks that have already sold shares in Hong Kong, Bank of China and China Construction Bank, ICBC has restructured and wiped out billions of dollars in bad debts.
Irrecoverable or dubious loans accounted for only 1.85 percent of ICBC's total loan portfolio by the end of June, the bank said in an online road show held for mainland Chinese investors.
Source: http://biz.yahoo.com/
The IPO, held simultaneously with a Hong Kong offering, is expected to raise about $22 billion, the most ever raised in a single share debut anywhere.
Unlike in Hong Kong, where investors lined up by the hundreds to place orders for shares, in Shanghai and elsewhere on the Chinese mainland orders were handled electronically.
Given the strong interest, the state-owned bank is expected to price its shares at the top end of the range specified in its prospectus.
In Hong Kong, several major brokers depleted the capital they had available for margin loans after pledging more than 50 billion Hong Kong dollars ($6.4 billion) to would-be ICBC investors, the Hong Kong newspaper South China Morning Post reported.
ICBC reported receiving some $220 billion in orders for shares set aside for institutional investors, 23 times the amount originally allocated, it said.
The mainland Chinese banks have a long track record of bad debts and lending scandals, but investors have been keen to buy shares, betting that government support will limit risks while allowing them to tap into China's economic boom.
Like the two other major state banks that have already sold shares in Hong Kong, Bank of China and China Construction Bank, ICBC has restructured and wiped out billions of dollars in bad debts.
Irrecoverable or dubious loans accounted for only 1.85 percent of ICBC's total loan portfolio by the end of June, the bank said in an online road show held for mainland Chinese investors.
Source: http://biz.yahoo.com/
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