Chinesepod - CCB attracts record funds in Shanghai IPO

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BIZCHINA / Center

CCB attracts record funds in Shanghai IPO

(chinadaily.com.cn)
Updated: 2007-09-18 16:34

China Construction Bank (CCB), the country's second-largest commercial
bank, has attracted a record 2.26 trillion yuan (US$300 billion) of
subscription funds in a Shanghai initial public offering (IPO), the China
Securities Journal reported.

The offering met with strong demand due to a positive outlook for the
bank combined with ample liquidity, said analysts.

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The size of funds frozen for subscription exceeded the previous record
set by Bank of Beijing, which attracted 1.89 trillion yuan in an offering
earlier this month.

CCB, already listed in Hong Kong, plans to offer up to 9 billion
yuan-denominated A shares and set an indicative range of 6.15 yuan to
6.45 yuan for the offering last Thursday. As the shares have been
substantially over-subscribed, it is likely that the share price is set
at the upper band of the range.

This meant it could raise up to 58.05 billion yuan in IPO and become the
largest domestic offering, exceeding the Industrial and Commercial Bank
of China, which raised 46.64 billion yuan last October in the domestic
market in a simultaneous listing in Shanghai and Hong Kong.

The bank's earnings per share in the first half of 2007 was 0.15 yuan,
compared with 0.12 yuan for the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China
and Bank of China.

Its non-performing loans ratio stood at 2.95 percent at the end of June,
lower than the 3.29 percent half a year ago.

The CCB shares would likely debut on the Shanghai Stock Exchange at about
30 percent higher than its H-share prices in Hong Kong, according to
Changjiang Securities.

China has been encouraging more domestic share issues to increase supply
of stocks and mop up excessive liquidity in its booming capital market,
where the key index has surged more than 100 percent this year.

Earlier this week, the China Securities Regulatory Commission approved
China's top coal producer Shenhua Energy's plan to issue up to 1.8
billion A shares, another major offer in the domestic stock market.

(For more biz stories, please visit Industry Updates)

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