City banks set for IPOs

City commercial banks Bank of Nanjing and Bank of Ningbo are joining their national counterparts by going public, the Financial Times reported. The banks' listing applications, still to be considered by China's securities regulator, are expected to be approved. Bank of Nanjing is China's fourth-largest city commercial bank. It will sell 37% of its shares by listing on the Shanghai exchange and could raise up to an estimated US$1 billion. Bank of Ningbo will sell 18% of its shares on the Shenzhen bourse and it could be worth up to US$480 million. BNP Paribas has a 19.2% stake and International Finance Corporation has a 5% stake in Bank of Nanjing and OCBC Bank has 12.2% of Ningbo. National banks like Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, Bank of China and China Construction Bank have had large listings in the past year.