Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC, 1398.HK) started its US$1.67 billion rights issue in Hong Kong on Monday, aiming to raise up to US$6.8 billion to prepare for loan risks and meet capital regulations, the South China Morning Post reported. The rights issue comes on the heels of stricter capital requirements by the People’s Bank of China and would help prepare the bank for further potential monetary tightening. ICBC, the world’s biggest bank by market capitalization, reported a record 99.72% subscription ratio in its Shanghai rights issue which closed last week. Registered shareholders of the bank as of November 26 are entitled to 0.45 share for every 10 held. More than 3.73 billion H-shares are on offer and will be available until December 16 at HK$3.49 (US$0.45) each. The new shares will start trading on December 28.