Bank of China (BoC) (3988.HK, 601988.SHA) is close to issuing a US$7 billion share offering in Hong Kong to bolster balance sheets strained by loan growth, the Financial Times reported. BoC has already announced plans to issue US$5.9bn in convertible bonds on the mainland. The share issue is likely to be limited to a Hong Kong offering easily accessible by foreign investors. The new issues are set to be formally approved by BoC shareholders on Friday but the share offering is still weeks away. Last month other Chinese state-owned banks including Bank of Communications (3328.HK, 601328.SHA) and China Merchants Bank (3968.HK, 600036.SHA) also announced plans to recapitalize through equity and bond sales.
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