Agricultural Bank Locks In 11 Cornerstone Investors For H-Share IPO-Prospectus

24th Jun 2010 10:58

HONG KONG (Dow Jones)--Agricultural Bank of China Ltd., which kicked off the roadshow for the Hong Kong tranche of its multibillion dollar IPO Thursday, has attracted US$5.45 billion from 11 cornerstone investors, according to its prospectus released Thursday. Agricultural Bank of China Ltd., which is seeking to list in both Shanghai and Hong Kong in one of the world's biggest IPOs in years, is selling shares in Hong Kong in a range between HK$2.88 and HK$3.48 to raise up to US$13.08 billion from the Hong Kong part, according to people familiar with the deal Wednesday. At the low end of the range, and without any overallotment of shares, the Hong Kong listing would raise US$9.41 billion and at the top end it would be US$11.41 billion. It aims to raise as much as US$13.08 billion in the Hong Kong portion with the overallotment option exercised. According to the prospectus released as the Hong Kong roadshow began, Middle Eastern funds Qatar Investment Authority and Kuwait Investment Authority, U.S. agribusiness group Archer Daniels Midland Co, Australia's Seven Group Holdings Ltd., U.K.-based Standard Chartered PLC (STAN.LN) and Dutch financial-services firm Rabobank will have their investments locked up for 12 months, while the others can sell after six. As reported, the two Middle Eastern funds have agreed to buy the largest share of the offering, with Qatar Investment Authority subscribing to $2.8 billion of shares and Kuwait Investment Authority opting for $800 million. U.K.-based Standard Chartered PLC (STAN.LN) will be the next biggest investor in AgBank's offering, agreeing to buy $500 million of the Hong Kong-listed shares. Rabobank, one of the world's largest farm lenders, will invest about $250 million and Singapore state investment company Temasek Holdings Pte. Ltd. will put in for about $200 million. Seven Group, a company controlled by billionaire Kerry Stokes with interests in media and heavy equipment, has subscribed for $250 million in the IPO. Archer Daniels Midland, Singapore's United Overseas Bank Ltd. (U11.SG) and Cheung Kong (Holdings), controlled by Hong Kong billionaire Li Ka-shing, will each invest $100 million in the IPO, the prospectus said. Meanwhile Beijing's tourism monopoly China Travel Services Group is set to invest $150 million and the state-run consumer group China Resources (Holdings) Co. is set to invest $200 million. AgBank shares will begin trading in Hong Kong on July 16, and in Shanghai the day before that, people familiar with the situation said earlier. AgBank is selling 25.4 billion H shares and 22.2 billion A shares. The price range for the Shanghai listing has yet to be set. However, a comparable price range for the A shares would allow AgBank to raise US$11.56 billion for a total of as much as US$24.64 billion. To grab the mantle of the biggest IPO, AgBank would have to raise more than the US$21.9 billion fetched by its peer Industrial & Commercial Bank of China Ltd. from its 2006 stock offering in Shanghai and Hong Kong. -By Hong Kong Bureau, Dow Jones Newswires; 852-2802-7002; [email protected] (END) Dow Jones Newswires June 24, 2010 05:58 ET (09:58 GMT)