China CITIC Bank, the country's seventh-biggest commercial bank, began marketing a $3 billion IPO in Shanghai and Hong Kong today that is expected to command strong demand from investors seeking access to double-digit growth in the world's fourth-largest economy.
The bank, in which Spain's Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria owns 4.83 per cent, follows several larger rivals to market in IPOs that have drawn massive orders.
Market insiders said CITIC Bank's IPO is likely to be priced at a discount to listed peers given the share rallies that have made Chinese lenders among the world's most expensive financial stocks, as well as its smaller size.
Still, the deal is expected to lure investors pursuing the Chinese domestic demand story.
"It will be a hot one," said Ben Kwong of KGI Asia Ltd. "Investors still believe that there's upside."
The lender - 80 percent-owned by Beijing-controlled conglomerate China International Trust and Investment - is expected to begin trading on April 27th, in what will be the second simultaneous listing in Hong Kong and Shanghai, after Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC).
CITIC Bank's debut will be the biggest stock sale by a Chinese bank since October, when top mainland lender ICBC raised a world record $21.9 billion.