BOC clears IPO obstacles

The Bank of China said it had sealed agreements with all its foreign strategic investors, clearing a major obstacle to its proposed Hong Kong IPO, the Financial Times reported. The announcement that that no more investors would be included before the listing ends speculation that BOC might also sell a stake to Japan's Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ. The bank will sell a total of 16.85% of its existing shares ahead of the IPO, substantially less than originally envisaged. BOC had been planning a Hong Kong listing for the first quarter of this year but pressure from regulators to stage part of its IPO in local markets, as well as debate over the valuation of state banks, are likely to delay it by some months. The listing is expected to raise up to US$10 billion.