Top Biz News

Industrial Bank stock lower than predictions

By Zhang Lu (China Daily)
Updated: 2007-02-06 08:55

But a lower than expected price on the first trading day offers potential for investment, he said.

The Industrial Bank has shown relatively good performance, statistics show.

Partly owned byHang Seng Bank, it had total assets of 532.2 billion yuan by the end of 2006.

It registered a net profit of 1.74 billion yuan in the first half of 2006. Its net profit grew by an average 30 percent annually from 2003 to 2005.

Its outstanding loans rose to 292.3 billion yuan as of June 30. Its bad-loan ratio stood at 2.01 percent, lower than the 2.81 percent average of its peers.

The Industrial Bank is among a group of mid-sized commercial banks which followed bigger market players like theIndustrial and Commercial Bank of ChinaandBank of Chinato list publicly, raising funds to boost their finances and to help fend off foreign competitors.

Proceeds raised from the IPO will be used to boost its capital adequacy ratio above the minimum regulatory requirement of 8 percent, up from the 7.17 percent it recorded at the end of June 2006, the bank has said.

The funds will also be used to expand its network, build and upgrade information systems and buyfixed assets.

China's main stock index continued to fall yesterday. The Shanghai Composite Index slid 2.27 percent to close at 2,612.537 points, its lowest level since late December.