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CITIC Bank eyes US$10.26b in dual listing

(AFP)
Updated: 2007-04-16 09:21

China CITIC Bank, the latest Chinese lender to announce its international listing, said Sunday it hopes to raise 10.26 billion US dollars when it goes public at the end of the month.

Related readings: Bank sets range for dual listing CITIC Bank to raise record fund in Hong Kong CITIC Bank IPOs attract hefty fund

Launching the prospectus for itsinitial public offering, China's seventh largest bank said that it will offer investors 7.19 billion shares in a dual listing inHong KongandShanghai, set for April 27.

The bank will issue 4.89H-Shareslisted in Hong Kong to investors in the southern Chinese territory and international buyers.

The bank has an option to issue an additional 732 million more if the offer is over-subscribed.

Spain's BBVA bank and CITIC International Finance Holdings (CIFH), each of which have large stakes in the bank, will also be issued 7.6 billion H-Shares in the flotation.

The indicative price range for the H-shares shares is 5.06-5.86 Hong Kong dollars (0.72-0.74 US dollars) each and they are expected to raise up to 8.7 billion US dollars.

The international offer launches Monday and closes Thursday, with the final price expected to be announced a day later.

The A-Share offer of stock to be listed on the Shanghai bourse will be sold in China, priced at a mid-range of 5.4 yuan (0.66 US dollars) and is expected to raise a further 1.56 billion US dollars.

In a press conference fromBeijingand San Francisco, where executives are on a roadshow to promote the IPO, bank chairman Kong Dan stressed the company's competitiveness.

"We are a fast-growing commercial bank," Kong said. "We believe we have strong full-service capabilities to offer a comprehensive range of products and services to customers nationwide."

The bank won approval for the Hong Kong listing in March.

At the end of 2006, the bank's capital adequacy ratio -- a basic measure of financial health -- stood at 9.4 percent, up from 8.1 percent in 2005.

With corporate banking its core business, CITIC Bank has courted strategic investors, selling a 16.4 percent stake to CITIC International Financial Holdings,CITIC Group's Hong Kong-based flagship company, and a 4.83 percent share to BBVA, Spain's second-largest bank.

About 20.7 percent of the new shares would be offered to the two strategic investors so that their stakes would not be diluted, the South China Morning Post reported earlier, citing a sales document sent to fund managers.

CITIC Bank will become the second lender, afterIndustrial and Commercial Bank of Chinalast year, to list simultaneously in Shanghai and Hong Kong.