Shui On Land priced its initial public offering at the top end of the scale Wednesday, putting it on course to raise US$800 million, despite fears that it could become embroiled in the Shanghai corruption probe. Shui On warned in its IPO prospectus that it "may become involved" in the probe into the city pension fund scandal, although it is not currently under investigation, the Financial Times reported. The company indirectly took a US$110 million loan from the pension fund in 2004. Meanwhile, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, itself pursuing an IPO, said that there was nothing illegal about loans it made to Fuxi Investments, the company at the center of the scandal. Rumors abound as to who might be the next to fall, following the removal of Shanghai communist party secretary Chen Liangyu. On Wednesday city officials dismissed Hong Kong and Taiwan media reports that Shanghai public security bureau director Wu Zhiming and party standing committee member Shen Hongguang were being questioned about the scandal.
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