Bank of China gets key approval for HK IPO
& S( E m/ ` N Bank of China, China's top foreign exchange lender, has secured key approval from the State Council to launch a HK$60 billion (US$7.7 billion) Hong Kong initial public offering in the first half of 2006, a Hong Kong newspaper reported on Monday.
6 \. J4 }( \/ c* h1 F The listing plan awaited a final approval from the China Securities Regulatory Commission, the South China Morning Post reported, citing sources close to the situation.1 \- ]$ c3 Q8 `9 |
The bank may file a preliminary listing application with the Hong Kong Stock Exchange as soon as this week, the paper added.
: E4 L' }4 _8 e* ] M% @2 h V 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.
0 E( G8 o7 ?' ^# X The offering would value the bank at 400 billion yuan (US$49.6 billion), the paper said. |