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Bank begins IPO roadshow

(China Daily)
Updated: 2007-01-16 10:10

SHANGHAI: The Industrial Bank Co, a mid-sized joint stock bank, kicked off its roadshow yesterday, the first domesticinitial public offering(IPO) for 2007.

The bank, based in East China'sFujianProvince, plans to issue as many as 1.33 billion new local currencyA shareson theShanghai Stock Exchangeto fund its expansion.

The IPO, which has been in the pipeline for more than two years, would make the Industrial Bank the eighth commercial bank to be listed on the domestic stock market.

The share sale, which is equivalent to 25 percent of its expanded share capital, is likely to raise as much as 23 billion yuan, analysts said.

"The price would probably be set between 15 and 18 yuan per share," said Qian Kun, a banking analyst at Changjiang Securities.

Its IPO price was previously expected to be between 10 and 12 yuan.

"The bank, although relatively small in size, is competitive and well run, especially its product innovation capacity," the analyst said.

Its stock price is likely to climb to 24 to 26 yuan, Qian said.

An indicative share price range will be announced within the week, the bank said in its prospectus.

The share offering will open for subscriptions next Monday and Tuesday and online subscriptions will be available from Tuesday, the bank said.

The date for the bank to begin trading on the Shanghai Stock Exchange has not yet been decided.

But the Industrial Bank said it would set the trading date as soon as possible.