CHINA'S securities regulator yesterday gave the go-ahead for China Construction Bank Corp to sell up to nine billion A shares, denominated on yuan, to possibly raise as much as US$8 billion.
Analysts said the bank's A shares may debut as early as this month in what would be the biggest or second-biggest stock sale on the Chinese mainland.
The planned share issue will account for up to 3.85 percent of the lender's enlarged capital.
The regulator didn't give more details yesterday, except noting that it has approved the bank's share sale application.
The lender didn't disclose how much it plans to raise. The capital to be reaped may top HK$62.46 billion (US$8 billion) based on the lender's closing price of HK$6.94 yesterday in Hong Kong. The A-share price sale may be discounted on its H-share price.
Industrial and Commercial Bank of China topped as the world's biggest IPO by raising US$19.1 billion in October in a dual listing in Hong Kong and Shanghai. It raked in 46.6 billion yuan (US$6.18 billion) in Shanghai.
Construction Bank also teamed up with partner Bank of America Corp, the second-largest US bank, to set up a joint venture to lease power-generation and rail equipment in China with a registered capital of 4.5 billion yuan.
The Chinese lender will hold 75.1 percent of the joint venture while BoA will own the remaining 24.9 percent, the Beijing-based bank said on late Thursday in a statement to the Hong Kong stock exchange.
The two banks will finance leases through deposits, bonds and loans, and may branch out into o2ther businesses under the terms of an agreement approved by the China Banking Regulatory Commission.
BoA, which bought nine percent in Construction Bank in 2005, saw its shares diluted to 8.52 percent after the lender listed in Hong Kong in 2005.