Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Tuesday, December 09, 2003
Minsheng Bank to float H shares
China's sole private lender, Minsheng Bank, is expected to announce this week details of its planned stock listing in Hong Kong, according to a newspaper report Monday.
China's sole private lender, Minsheng Bank, is expected to announce this week details of its planned stock listing in Hong Kong, according to a newspaper report Monday.
Minsheng's Hong Kong initial public offering, which is scheduled for the first half of 2004 and expected to raise about US$1 billion, will seek shareholders' approval, the Hong Kong Economic Times said Monday.
Executives with Minsheng Bank were not immediately available for comment.
The bank's yuan-denominated A shares listed in Shanghai eased 0.05 yuan to 9.02 yuan Monday morning.
It would be a challenge for the bank to win mainland shareholders' approval for the Hong Kong listing since the Hong Kong market was trading at an average of 18 times price earnings, much lower than the mainland market at 30-40 times, the paper said.
In the first nine months, Minsheng posted net profit of 1.05 billion yuan, up 60 percent from the same period last year.