Air China, the country's largest international carrier, said Tuesday its Hong Kong initial public offering (IPO) was 82.7 times subscribed, while its international offering was also oversubscribed.

Following strong demand for its shares in the Hong Kong market, the claw-back mechanism had been applied for its retail tranche, the company said in a statement.

Instead of the original Hong Kong retail tranche of 280.6 million shares, Air China will now make available 1.12 billion shares, representing 40 percent of its total global offering of 2.8 billion shares.

The company did not give details on the subscription levels for its international tranche, but said it was "very significantly oversubscribed."

Trading of Air China shares will start Wednesday in both Hong Kong and London. It has priced its shares at HK$0.38, the high end of its target range, due to strong demand.

Merrill Lynch and China International Corp Ltd. are book-runners for the issue.

Air China said in an earlier statement it expected to raise net proceeds of up to HK$7.51 billion from its dual listing and would use the fund mostly to acquire 10 Airbus 319 and four Boeing 737-700 aircraft.

The company plans to spend 4.8 billion yuan (US$579 million) for the purchase of new aircraft and will use the rest of the IPO proceeds to repay debts maturing in one year and supplement its cash flow.

Last week, European aircraft giant Airbus said it had clinched a US$1.33 billion deal with Air China for the delivery of 23 A319, A320 and A321 jetliners.

Source: Shenzhen Daily-Agencies