Shares in Agricultural Bank of China (ABC; 601288.SH, 1288.HK) fell below their initial public offering price on the Shanghai Stock Exchange for the first time last Friday, state media reported. The bank raised US$22.1 billion in the world’s largest A-share dual listing in Hong Kong and Shanghai on July 15, but on Friday its shares were trading at RMB2.62 per share, down from the IPO price of RMB2.68 each, and continued to decline Monday. The slide in ABC’s shares dragged down the overall Shanghai Composite Index to its lowest point since July. Rumors that the China Banking Regulatory Commission (CBRC) may raise large banks’ capital adequacy ratios to 15% by 2012 spooked investors concerned about the quality of the bank’s assets, said Gui Haoming, chief analyst at Shenyin & Wanguo Securities. The current minimum ratio for large banks is 11.1%.
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