China Everbright Bank to IPO on August 18

China Everbright Bank, China’s 11th-largest lender by assets, plans to complete its potential US$2.9 billion initial public offering (IPO) on the Shanghai Stock Exchange on August 18, Reuters reported. The bank plans to sell 6.1 billion shares but may expand the offering to 7 billion shares if it chooses to exercise a "greenshoe" over-allotment option. Investor road shows will begin in four major Chinese cities today and through August 5. Everbright is joining a rush by Chinese banks to raise funds via the capital markets in order to replenish balance sheets drained by last year’s lending spree. Last month Agricultural Bank of China (601288.SH, 1288.HK) raised US$20.8 billion in the world’s second-largest IPO. Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (601398.SH, 1398.HK) wants to raise US$6.64 billion in a rights offering. China’s stock market fell one third in the first half of the year as new IPOs drained liquidity, but it has recovered somewhat in recent weeks.