Economy

Markets

Industries

Insights

Reports

Events

ICBC considers bond issue

(China Daily/Agencies)
Updated: 2008-08-23 08:51

Industrial and Commercial Bank of China Ltd (ICBC), the world's most profitable bank, may sell as much as 100 billion yuan ($14.6 billion) worth of bonds after domestic loan growth and acquisitions overseas drained capital.

The Beijing-based lender, which overtook its closest rival HSBC Holdings Plc after its profits soared 57 percent in the first half of the year, plans to sell the subordinated debt in batches by 2011, it said in a statement to the Shanghai Stock Exchange yesterday.

Shareholders will vote on the plan on October 27.

Annual economic growth of more than 10 percent bolstered corporate loans and services to China's growing number of wealthy people, helping ICBC more than double profit since 2005.