ICBC targets US$19b dual IPO
18 July 2006
Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, the mainland's biggest bank by assets, plans to raise as much as US$19 billion from simultaneous initial public offerings in Shanghai and Hong Kong, which could rank as the world's largest IPO. The bank, which will apply for a listing on the Hong Kong stock exchange this week, will offer 12% of its enlarged share capital in Hong Kong and 6% in Shanghai, sources told the South China Morning Post. The simultaneous listing poses a pricing dilemma since mainland-listed A-shares trade at a premium to Hong Kong-listed H-shares. The IPO is expected to surpass the US$13.7 billion rival Bank of China raised earlier this year from both H- and A-share listings. The IPO record is held by Japan's NTT DoCoMo, which raised US$18.4 billion in 1998, followed by Italy's Enel with US$17.4 billion from its 1999 listing.
