ICBC listing kicks off

Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC), the country's largest lender by assets, simultaneously launched its public offering in Hong Kong and Shanghai Monday, making it the first-ever company to list on both A-and H-share markets at the same time, state media reported. The initial public offering is likely to be the largest IPO in history, surpassing Japan's NTT Mobile Communications record-making US$18.4 billion offer. The bank priced the offering at a range of US$0.33-0.39 per share in both Hong Kong and Shanghai. Retail and institutional investors are able to place orders from Monday in Hong Kong, but retail investors on the mainland must wait until Thursday. The final offer price will be announced on October 23 and the dual trading debut is scheduled for October 27.