China’s Harbin Bank will start taking orders from investors next week ahead of its US$1 billion initial public offering in Hong Kong, which will be listed by the end of March, The Wall Street Journal reported. Worried that growing levels of bad debt on the mainland and China’s slowing economy will stem demand for its IPO, Harbin Bank is gathering hard-underwriting agreements from cornerstone investors to ensure a high valuation. Amid tighter regulatory requirements, Harbin’s IPO is one of the many from Chinese financial firms that are trying to recapitalize themselves through Hong Kong IPOs.