INDUSTRIAL & Commercial Bank of China Ltd, the world's biggest by market value, said 2.88 billion yuan-denominated shares will become tradable next week as their 18-month lockup period expires.

Some so-called "strategic investors" will be allowed to sell their holdings on Monday, representing 8.6 percent of total outstanding shares, the Beijing-based bank said in a statement yesterday. The bank still has 23.6 billion non-tradable shares owned by the government. ICBC raised US$22 billion in a simultaneous initial public offering in Shanghai and Hong Kong in October 2006. The stock has gained 71 percent in Hong Kong and 94 percent in Shanghai since the debut.