ABC heads for world's largest IPO

The Agricultural Bank of China (ABC) is likely to issue up to 51.4 billion shares in its much-awaited initial public offering (IPO), accounting for 16 percent of its total capitalization, a source close to the bank said on Tuesday.

The bank set the proportion of its new share sale at a range between 12 to 18 percent of its total capitalization and it might scale down the IPO size if the market conditions remain volatile, the source said.

The recent fluctuations in the domestic capital market have cast a shadow on the lender's offer price, which is yet to be decided amid investors' uncertainties about the overall economic outlook. Full story

Agricultural Bank of China (ABC) has cleared a preliminary hearing with the Chinese securities regulator in the run-up to its planned $30 billion IPO in Shanghai and Hong Kong.

The bank, whose initial public offering later this year is expected to be the largest of all time, went before the China Securities Regulatory Commission on May 25 in an unofficial review procedure. Full story

Agricultural Bank of China (ABC) is set to issue up to 53 billion A and H shares, including greenshoe, in its $30 billion IPO in Hong Kong and Shanghai, a local newspaper reported on May 24, citing market sources.

The proportion of A and H shares in the IPO has yet to be determined, Apple Daily said.

ABC, which plans to list in Hong Kong and Shanghai by July, forecast its earnings to be more than 80 billion yuan ($11.72 billion) for 2010, up about 30 percent from last year, the newspaper said. Full story

China's pension fund has invested 15 billion yuan ($2.2 billion) in the Agricultural Bank of China (ABC), ahead of the bank's $30 billion initial public offering (IPO), a fund official said. Full story

The Agricultural Bank of China (ABC) may be forced to lower the price of its massive initial public offering (IPO) after recent market volatility rattled investor confidence, analysts said.

The lender is aiming for a price-to-book (P/B) ratio, a widely watched measure of bank valuations, of around 2, which analysts said was "a bit overpriced" given the current poor market conditions.

"The shares may face the risk of falling below the IPO price if the lender goes with the planned P/B ratio because we expect that market sentiment will remain relatively weak in the months ahead," said Chen Xi, an analyst at First Capital Securities. Full story

Agricultural Bank of China Ltd, the nation's third-largest lender by assets, hired nine banks to arrange first-time share sales in the Chinese mainland and Hong Kong in what may be the world's largest initial public offering.

The company picked China International Capital Corp (CICC), Deutsche Bank AG, Goldman Sachs Group Inc, JPMorgan Chase & Co, Macquarie Group Ltd and Morgan Stanley to arrange the Hong Kong portion, according to a statement on its website. CICC, Citic Securities Co, China Galaxy Securities Co and Guotai Junan Securities Co will manage the bank's yuan-denominated A-share offering. Agricultural Bank's own investment-banking unit will also help with the Hong Kong sale. Full story

Founded in 1951, the Beijing-based bank operates branches throughout the Chinese mainland, in Hong Kong and Singapore.

Agricultural Bank of China is the nation's third-largest lender by assets. With the largest network across China, the ABC is able to provide financial services to over 350 million clients. Currently, ABC has 24,064 branches, sub-branches and outlets, 30,089 ATMs and banking relationships with 1,171 banks worldwide.

Chairman Xiang Junbo

Once the vice governor of China's central bank, Xiang was appointed governor of ABC in June 2007, and became chairman of ABC in January 2009.

Governor Zhang Yun

Zhang, PhD in economics, was appointed as vice chairman and governor of the bank in 2009.

Vice Governor Pan Gongsheng

Pan was in charge of Industrial and Commercial Bank of China's listings in Shanghai and Hong Kong. He was appointed vice governor of ABC in May 2008.

Financial Highlights of ABC