Bank of China gets key approval for HK IPO
! u. d; X' K8 I( e& k. { Bank of China, China's top foreign exchange lender, has secured key approval from the State Council to launch a HK$60 billion (US$7.7 billion) Hong Kong initial public offering in the first half of 2006, a Hong Kong newspaper reported on Monday.The listing plan awaited a final approval from the China Securities Regulatory Commission, the South China Morning Post reported, citing sources close to the situation.
% F$ c7 ?9 M1 g The bank may file a preliminary listing application with the Hong Kong Stock Exchange as soon as this week, the paper added.
, m5 F+ ~/ J+ n D" T3 W 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.
% ~% Y% h+ q0 z# d" P' t The offering would value the bank at 400 billion yuan (US$49.6 billion), the paper said |