AgBank To Raise Up To US$11.41B From HK Part Of IPO -Sources

23rd Jun 2010 17:21

HONG KONG (Dow Jones)--Agricultural Bank of China Ltd. is raising up to US$11.41 billion from the Hong Kong portion of its initial public offering, two people familiar with the deal said Wednesday, moving a step closer to completing one of the world's biggest IPOs ever. The rural lender is selling 25.4 billion H shares, or 8% of the enlarged capital of the bank before an overallotment option is exercised, according to an IPO prospectus posted on the Shanghai stock exchange last week. The people said Wednesday, that the indicative price range for the Hong Kong listing has been set at a range of HK$2.88-HK$3.48 per share. This price range translates to a 2010 price-to-book multiple of between 1.55 and 1.79 times before an overallotment, or greenshoe, option is exercised. If the overallotment option is exercised, the price-to-book multiple would be at 1.53-1.76 times. That puts it below the valuations of the other Big Four banks in China, based on closing prices Wednesday and the book value at the end of March. Industrial & Commercial Bank of China Ltd. is trading at 1.97 times book, China Construction Bank at 1.93 times and Bank of China at 1.66 times. According to the IPO prospectus, the bank will sell up to 29.22 billion shares in Hong Kong including the overallotment option. AgBank is also selling 22.24 billion yuan-denominated A shares in Shanghai. In total, the bank will offer 47.6 billion shares for its Hong Kong and Shanghai listings, before the overallotment option is exercised. -By Yvonne Lee and Nisha Gopalan, Dow Jones Newswires; 852 2583 2335; [email protected] (Rose Yu contributed to this article.) (END) Dow Jones Newswires June 23, 2010 12:21 ET (16:21 GMT)