Banking News
- BoCom total assets rise 20.4 percent
Date: 1-Mar-2007 Sources: (Shenzhen Daily)
THE total assets of Bank of Communications (BoCom) rose 20.4 percent year on year in 2006, as the country's fifth-largest lender eyes acquisitions after a planned domestic initial public offering (IPO) this year, sources close to the bank said.
Total assets of the bank were 1.71 trillion yuan (US$220.8 billion) at the end of 2006, compared with 1.42 trillion yuan at the end of 2005, one source said yesterday, citing an internal document containing the bank's audited 2006 results.
A second financial source confirmed the number.
The sources declined to reveal other figures, such as profits. The bank is scheduled to release its 2006 results in Hong Kong on March 8.
Shanghai-based Bank of Communications, in which HSBC Holdings Plc. bought a nearly 20 percent stake for US$1.75 billion in 2004, declined comment. Currently, HSBC is the second-largest shareholder of Bank of Communications, just behind China's Ministry of Finance.
Last month, banking sources said Bank of Communications aimed to raise about 20 billion yuan through a local currency A-share listing in Shanghai in March, in a move aimed to boost its capital for fast business expansion.
'The bank's (IPO) plan is going smoothly so far,'said the first source.
'It's hard to say when exactly the bank will list in Shanghai as there are still many IPO details to finalize and this will also depend on market environment,'said the source.
'But senior executives and financial advisers all hope the bank can list within the first half of this year anyway,'he said, adding board members would hold an internal meeting to discuss the IPO plan after March 8.
The bank has said both its board and shareholders had already approved its Shanghai initial public offering plan but Bank of Communications, which operates 2,600 branches across the nation, hasn't yet announced details such as the exact number of shares it will issue, pricing or a time frame for the offer.
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