2010-07-02 09:29

SHANGHAI - Agricultural Bank of China's Shanghai share offering has drawn strong demand from potential strategic investors,  who put up more funds than the value of shares set aside for them, the China Securities Journal said on Friday.

ABC received more than 30 billion yuan in subscriptions from potential strategic investors for the A-share offering, signalling healthy demand for what could be the world's biggest IPO, the newspaper said.

ABC's dual-listing in Shanghai and Hong Kong could raise up to $20.2 billion excluding a greenshoe, or overallotment option, just a shade smaller than Industrial and Commercial Bank's record $21.9 billion offering in 2006.

ABC, China's third-biggest lender by assets, plans to sell up to 10.23 billion shares in its Shanghai offering to strategic investors, or 40 percent of the Shanghai portion of the offering including the greenshoe overallotment.

Based on 2.68 yuan a share, the top end of the indicative range for the A-share offering, the strategic placement could be worth up 27.4 billion yuan.

ABC will sell shares in Shanghai at 2.52 to 2.68 yuan apiece. The A-share price range compares with a range of HK$2.88 to HK$3.48 set for the Hong Kong leg of the IPO.