Most ICBC trading to be in Shanghai

Most share trading after Industrial and Commercial Bank of China's (ICBC) initial public offering will likely be done in Shanghai. Hong Kong shares will make up 23.19% of the lender's share capital after the projected US$19 billion IPO. The rest, a 71.5% stake held by two government agencies, will be made up of A-shares, the South China Morning Post reported. Beijing made a similar decision with Bank of China's IPO earlier this year as a way of keeping foreigners – who have limited access to the Shanghai's A-share market – from accumulating enough stock to have significant influence over the bank's management. The move also means ICBC, which will have one of the largest capitalizations in Hong Kong, will not be included in the Hang Seng Index. The bank will have 255 billion A-shares and 77 billion H-shares. Currently, SAFE Investments, a government owned financial holding company, and the Ministry of Finance own most of the bank's equity.