A special committee in charge of stock issuance under the China Securities Regulatory Commission has announced that it will consider the initial public offering (IPO) application from the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) in the A-share market today.

 

The ICBC, the country's biggest lender, plans to go public simultaneously on the mainland and Hong Kong bourses next month.

 

The ICBC will issue 13 billion Renminbi-denominated A shares on the Chinese mainland stock market, accounting for 3.96 percent of its total shares after the IPO, and 35.39 billion H-shares on the Hong Kong market, with the same issue price.

 

By the end of June, total assets of the ICBC exceeded 70 trillion yuan (US$5 trillion), with net profits of more than 25.1 billion yuan. Its ratio for non-performing loans stood at 4.1 percent.

 

The government hopes its "big four" state banks -- the ICBC, Bank of China, China Construction Bank and the Agricultural Bank of China -- once plagued by bad debts, will strengthen corporate governance and streamline operations with the help of foreign investors and public listings.

 

The moves are part of the efforts made by the government, the major stockholder of the "big four", to overhaul China's banks before the full opening of the country's financial market to foreign competition by the end of this year under China's commitments to the World Trade Organization.

 

After the IPO of the ICBC, the Agricultural Bank of China will become the only member of "big four" that is not listed.

 

(Xinhua News Agency September 26, 2006)