China Merchants Bank (CMB), the mainland's sixth-largest lender, is expected to draw heavy subscription to its Hong Kong initial public offering (IPO) due to a smart pricing strategy, decent asset portfolio and strong demand for new shares, analysts said.

 

Anticipated demand for the IPO would further consolidate overseas investor confidence in the mainland financial sector, they said.

 

The bank launched its promotional roadshow yesterday to market the shares to institutional investors. The offering may raise as much as US$2.4 billion, excluding an over-allotment option that allows the bank to float more shares if its IPO is heavily subscribed.

 

"Institutional investors have shown great interest in CMB," said an analyst in Shenzhen, where the bank is based. He declined to be named as his securities house is involved in the deal.

 

"Cash will flow in as soon as the bank opens its order book," said the analyst.

 

"The price looks attractive," he said, predicting the IPO would draw at least HK$100 billion (US$12.5 billion) worth of funds.

 

The bank has set a proposed price range of between HK$7.3 (93.6 US cents) and HK$8.55 (US$1.1) per share, lower than many had expected.

 

The current price range represents 2.2 to 2.44 times its book value, less than the average nearly 2.5 times of its Hong Kong-listed peers Bank of Communications, China Construction Bank and Bank of China.

 

The price is also in line with CMB's Shanghai-traded shares, which closed at 8.49 yuan (US$1.06) yesterday.

 

Patrick Yiu, associate director of CASH Asset Management, said investors are confident because the bank is considered by some fund managers to be the mainland's most efficient, with a strong retail banking business.

 

"We all know the bank it's just in our neighboring city. We know it's doing well," said Yu.

 

CMB currently has 79,000 high-end customers with deposits of at least 500,000 yuan (US$62,500) each. The lender has issued 6.5 million credit cards, accounting for about 30 percent of the mainland's credit card business.

 

The bank introduced a "service-oriented" management philosophy to the mainland's banking sector in the early 1990s for the first time.

 

It's also a mainland bank with few bad loan problems.

 

CMB has 467 branches in more than 30 mainland cities and keeps its loan risk under control by lending very little to "overheated" sectors such as property and automobiles.

 

(China Daily September 5, 2006)