Shares in Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) advanced 15 percent
in trading on the Hong Kong stock exchange Friday, matching what the market had
expected from the debut of the world’s largest-ever initial public offering
(IPO).
"It's pretty spectacular to be honest, I am amazed that it opened up 17-plus
percent. I had thought we would see a 20 percent premium on the day, but not
that big of a gain immediately," said Andrew Clarke, a sales trader with Societe
Generale in Hong Kong.
ICBC’s shares traded on the Shanghai Stock Exchange closed at 3.28 yuan (42
U.S. cents), up 5 percent from its initial offer price of 3.11 yuan. The share
opened 10 percent higher at 3.44 yuan, but eased back as trading progressed.
In Hong Kong, ICBC shares were quoted at HK$3.61 at the open, 17.5 percent
above the IPO price at HK$3.07 (40 U.S. cents), but scaled back to close at
HK$3.52 for a 15 percent gain on the day.
Market watchers had expected ICBC shares traded in Hong Kong to appreciate 10
percent to 15 percent on the first day of trading.
"I think the situation in Hong Kong was a little bit better than the
situation in Shanghai," said Ben Kwong, an analyst at KGI Securities in Hong
Kong. "In Shanghai, the participants were mainly Chinese investors, but in Hong
Kong trading was driven by international investors."
Kwong said derivative-related buying in Hong Kong also drove demand for ICBC
shares as issuers of related warrants entered the open market to purchase
physical stock.
Of a total market turnover of HK$76 billion, ICBC-related trading accounted
for 49 percent, or US$37.5 billion, owing largely to heavy issuance of warrants
and options.
"Such large turnover, to a certain extent, was due to derivative-linked
trading,” Kwong said. “This factor, along with institutional buying, helps to
explain why there was a divergent share price performance between the two
markets."
The Shanghai Stock Exchange does not have a covered-warrant market. Analysts
say the lack of derivative-related buying to underpin ICBC’s Shanghai-listed
shares, known as A shares, is a long term negative for the mainland offering.
ICBC raised a total of US$19.1 billion through a simultaneous listing on the
Hong Kong and Shanghai stock exchanges to become the world’s largest-ever IPO.
Beijing-based ICBC raised US$5.1 billion by listing 13 billion A shares in
Shanghai and US$13.9 billion by listing 35.38 billion H shares in Hong Kong. The
shares were priced at the top end of their offered range set by the underwriter.
The previous record for an IPO was the US$18.4 billion listing of Japan's NTT
Mobile Communications in 1998.
ICBC was established in 1984 when the People's Bank of China separated its
commercial lending and deposit-taking operations to focus solely on central
banking. It has 18,000 branches, 360,000 employees and more than 150 million
customers.
If ICBC chooses to exercise an over-allotment option, the deal could increase
by 15 percent to US$21.7 billion and account for 16.7 percent of the bank's
total share capital. Analysts say the bank is almost certain to exercise
follow-on placements, given the overwhelming interests from retail and
institution investors.
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