(1 March 2006 – China) European and US banks are lining up for a beauty parade for an advisory role in the initial public offering of Industrial & Commercial Bank of China.The IPO, which is expected to occur later this year, will be the largest ever at US$10 billion.
Goldman Sachs, Merrill Lynch, Deutsche Bank, Credit Suisse, HSBC and JPMorgan Chase have all been asked to formally tender their services, according to reports.
But Citigroup and Morgan Stanley have not been invited by the state owed bank to take part in the process. Morgan Stanley, along with Credit Suisse arranged China Contruction Bank’s US$9.2 billion IPO in 2005.
The favourites to land the much sought after advisory role are Goldman Sachs and Credit Suisse, although Deutsche has strong government connections and could also be a strong runner.