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ABC: No timetable fixed yet for IPO launch

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2009-03-08 10:42

No timetable has been fixed for the Agricultural Bank of China (ABC) to go public, the bank's board chairman Xiang Junbo said Saturday.

Related readings:  ABC targets 160b yuan of new loans for farmers in 2009  Agricultural Bank of China becomes shareholding company  Official: CDB, ABC will wait for right time to go public  ABC shores up 100b yuan in loans for 2009 Agricultural Bank of China plans dual listing

The lender is the last among the big four State-owned commercial banks in China to launch an initial public offering (IPO).

"We are not in talks with any domestic or overseas strategic investor for the IPO deal," Xiang said on the sidelines of the annual session of the National People's Congress, or the parliament.

Previous media reports about the bank's IPO plan or talks with strategic investors are not true, but merely speculation, he told reporters.

Reuters reported last month the bank would begin marketing its dual listing plan in March, aiming to raise at least HK$100 billion ($12.8 billion), citing the Hong Kong-based South China Morning Post.

"We are still working on the technical preparation for the IPO launch, and will initiate the listing at an appropriate time," he said.

Xiang said the bank has planned to extend 480 billion yuan ($70 billion) of loans in 2009, an increase of 30 percent from last year.

ABC is the second largest lender in China by assets, after the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China.