Bank of China gets key approval for HK IPO& h1 `. U$ ~. K( E/ m4 c5 ^
Bank of China, China's top foreign exchange lender, has secured key approval from the State Council to launch a HK$60 billion (US$7.7 billion) Hong Kong initial public offering in the first half of 2006, a Hong Kong newspaper reported on Monday.The listing plan awaited a final approval from the China Securities Regulatory Commission, the South China Morning Post reported, citing sources close to the situation.
0 R# c8 ]+ b; ]0 L) d/ M% P The bank may file a preliminary listing application with the Hong Kong Stock Exchange as soon as this week, the paper added.
# P' ` @3 [' r The offering, which Bank of China previously planned to complete before April, was now most likely to be launched in May, the paper quoted the sources as saying.
; f. F5 F6 ^7 Y& t The offering would value the bank at 400 billion yuan (US$49.6 billion), the paper said. |