China's biggest bank ICBC sets Oct. 27 for possible global record IPO: Knowledge Driven Revolution

China's biggest bank, Industrial & Commercial Bank of China Ltd., said Wednesday it will make its debut Oct. 27 on stock exchanges in Hong Kong and Shanghai in what looks to be the world's biggest initial public offering ever.

A prospectus issued by the bank said it would decide the pricing of shares on Monday, Oct. 23, and list them on exchanges the following Friday. It will be the first time a Chinese company has started trading simultaneously on two stock markets.

Earlier news reports said ICBC hopes to raise up to US$19 billion. That would break the IPO record of $18.4 billion set in 1998 by Japanese mobile phone company NTT DoCoMo Inc.

ICBC said last week it plans to sell IPO shares worth $3.5 billion to strategic investors. They include government investment agencies from Kuwait, Qatar and Singapore.

Wednesday's announcement came a day after the Chinese securities agency said it had approved the of ICBC, which reported assets of 6.5 trillion yuan, or $800 billion, as of the end of 2005.

ICBC will be the third of China's "big four" state-owned commercial banks to sell shares to investors abroad. Hong Kong is Chinese territory but it has its own financial system and mainland regulators treat it as a foreign market.

China's banks are raising money to modernize as Beijing prepares to meet a December deadline for fully opening their market to foreign competitors under its World Trade Organization commitments.

ICBC plans to issue 13 billion A shares priced in Chinese currency in Shanghai and 35.39 billion H shares, or stocks for a mainland Chinese-registered company listed in Hong Kong, the prospectus said. That is equal to 14.8 per cent of its share capital.

The prospectus didn't give a price range but said the shares would be priced at the same level, meaning about three-quarters of the money raised would come from Hong Kong.

If investor demand is especially high, the issue could be increased to 14.95 billion A shares and 40.70 billion H shares, or 16.7 per cent of total capital, the prospectus said.

The country's second-biggest lender, Bank of China, raised $11.2 billion in May with an IPO in Hong Kong that was the world's fourth-largest on record. No. 3 China Construction Bank raised $8 billion in October 2005.

These banks also have linked up with strategic partners from the United States, Europe and elsewhere who brought in new capital and helped to launch credit cards and other products.

In June, ICBC received a commitment from China's social security fund to invest more than 18 billion yuan ($2.25 billion) in the bank.

In January, a group linking Goldman Sachs Group Inc., American Express Co. and Germany's Allianz AG agreed to invest $3.78 billion.

Plans for an IPO by the remaining "big four" bank, Agricultural Bank of China, have been delayed due to its unusually large amount of bad loans.

Read Today's Knowledge Driven News
HOME Canadians Should Pay NOT to be Poisoned: NDP V for Vendetta - R for Reality Canadian Bird Flu Pandemic Looming ? Shill of the Week: Stephan Harper Aspartame: The Sweetest Killer Chicken Little Terrorist of the Week: Creating Fake Terrorists Shill of the Week: Paul Martin The Number 1 Reason YOU became a Slave	China's biggest bank ICBC sets Oct. 27 for possible global record IPO JOE MCDONALD - CP September 29, 2006 China's biggest bank, Industrial & Commercial Bank of China Ltd., said Wednesday it will make its debut Oct. 27 on stock exchanges in Hong Kong and Shanghai in what looks to be the world's biggest initial public offering ever. A prospectus issued by the bank said it would decide the pricing of shares on Monday, Oct. 23, and list them on exchanges the following Friday. It will be the first time a Chinese company has started trading simultaneously on two stock markets. Earlier news reports said ICBC hopes to raise up to US$19 billion. That would break the IPO record of $18.4 billion set in 1998 by Japanese mobile phone company NTT DoCoMo Inc. ICBC said last week it plans to sell IPO shares worth $3.5 billion to strategic investors. They include government investment agencies from Kuwait, Qatar and Singapore. Wednesday's announcement came a day after the Chinese securities agency said it had approved the of ICBC, which reported assets of 6.5 trillion yuan, or $800 billion, as of the end of 2005. ICBC will be the third of China's "big four" state-owned commercial banks to sell shares to investors abroad. Hong Kong is Chinese territory but it has its own financial system and mainland regulators treat it as a foreign market. China's banks are raising money to modernize as Beijing prepares to meet a December deadline for fully opening their market to foreign competitors under its World Trade Organization commitments. ICBC plans to issue 13 billion A shares priced in Chinese currency in Shanghai and 35.39 billion H shares, or stocks for a mainland Chinese-registered company listed in Hong Kong, the prospectus said. That is equal to 14.8 per cent of its share capital. The prospectus didn't give a price range but said the shares would be priced at the same level, meaning about three-quarters of the money raised would come from Hong Kong. If investor demand is especially high, the issue could be increased to 14.95 billion A shares and 40.70 billion H shares, or 16.7 per cent of total capital, the prospectus said. The country's second-biggest lender, Bank of China, raised $11.2 billion in May with an IPO in Hong Kong that was the world's fourth-largest on record. No. 3 China Construction Bank raised $8 billion in October 2005. These banks also have linked up with strategic partners from the United States, Europe and elsewhere who brought in new capital and helped to launch credit cards and other products. In June, ICBC received a commitment from China's social security fund to invest more than 18 billion yuan ($2.25 billion) in the bank. In January, a group linking Goldman Sachs Group Inc., American Express Co. and Germany's Allianz AG agreed to invest $3.78 billion. Plans for an IPO by the remaining "big four" bank, Agricultural Bank of China, have been delayed due to its unusually large amount of bad loans. Read the full article here Broken Link? If the link to the original article is broken or has been altered you can view the article by clicking here. About KDR \| \| Home \| \| Weekly Features Archive	Weekly Features Archive
		What Is Wrong With Canada ? Recent 9-11 News Suppressed by the Media Aspartame: The Sweetest Killer The Number 1 Reason YOU became a Slave Knowledge Driven Look at Your Favourite Canadian Political Parties
		July August September 2006 27 28 29 30 31 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 Weekly Features 2006 2005 Read Today's Knowledge Driven News
		Counter
Copyright � 2005-6 KnowledgeDrivenRevolution.com