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Agricultural Bank of China plans dual listing

By Hu Yuanyuan (chinadaily.com.cn)
Updated: 2008-12-10 19:23

The Agricultural Bank of China (ABC) plans to seek a dual listing at both Shanghai and Hong Kong bourse in 2010, Economic Daily yesterday cited an unnamed source as saying.

Related readings:  Agricultural Bank of China receives 130b yuan injection  ABC moves to the forefront in lending  ABC reform gets green light  Quake adds $860m to Agricultural Bank's NPLs

According to the source, ABC is expected to raise $25 billion to $35 billion from the initial public offering (IPO), with 60 percent of shares sold at the Shanghai bourse and 40 percent at the Hong Kong bourse. But the proportion could also be changed, depending on market situation and the scale of the IPO.

Meanwhile, ABC will pick out an investment bank early next year, since the bank will get ready for a listing by the end of this year, said the source.

In early November, ABC signed an agreement with Central Huijin Co, an investment arm of the government, for a 130 billion yuan ($18.98 billion) capital injection.

After the injection, Central Huijin and the Ministry of Finance each will have half of the bank's ownership.

The State Council, or the Cabinet, approved ABC's shareholding reform plan on October 21.

The third largest bank in China had a non-performing loan ratio of 23.5 percent at the end of last year, the highest among China's Big Four commercial banks and about four times the industry average of 5.6 percent.