Source said on October 20 that China Construction Bank (CCB) would raise US$8 billion in the year's largest IPO in the world, according to International Finance News.

The offering, priced at HK$2.35 a share, is at a high end of the expected range of between HK$1.90 and HK$2.40, and is also higher than previously rumored price of between HK$2.10 and HK$2.25.

China Construction Bank is China's third largest bank and its IPO is the largest ever in China, and also the world's largest this year, surpassing Gazde France's US$5.5 billion in July.

As foreign investors are eager to secure a foothold in the fast-growing Chinese economy, foreign shares will be about 9.5 times oversubscribed, said the source.

According to plan, if the retail tranche of the IPO is more than 50 times oversubscribed, the percentage of shares to be offered to retail investors would be adjusted from five percent to 7.5 percent.

It is rumored that the price in the gray market is HK$2.70 per share, a premium of 14.9 percent.

CCB ranks the second place in China in terms of the scale of its branches and it has as many as 145 million active accounts.

CCB will begin trading on Hong Kong stock exchange on October 27, 2005.

By People's Daily Online