(China) – Bank of China’s (BOC) planned US$3 billion IPO in its key Hong Kong subsidiary has received another non-fatal blow from its growing bad loan ratio following consolidation of results amongst its 10 constituent banks and recent acquisitions.The Bank has recorded a surprisingly high NPL ratio of 10.99 percent or HK$35.5 billion ($US4.6 billion).
BOC has transferred HK$11.4 billion of this to its mainland parent’s offshore branch, the Bank of China Grand Cayman, bringing the Hong Kong subsidiary’s NPL down to 9 percent.
Goldman Sachs, UBS Warburg and Bank of China International, BOC’s investment banking unit, are leading the share offering, with five co-lead managers – Nomura, Deutsche Bank AG, Merrill Lynch, Morgan Stanley and Salomon Smith Barney.