On July 28, 2023, 1,366,200,000 H rights shares issued by China Zheshang Bank Co., Ltd. (“CZB”, stock code: 601916.SH / 02016.HK) were listed on the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong. The allotment was undertaken on the basis of three H rights shares for every 10 existing H shares, and approximately HKD 3.047 billion was raised.
This was one of the last overseas listing projects approved by the Department of International Affairs of the CSRC during the transition period before the Trial Measures for the Administration of Overseas Securities Offering and Listing by Domestic Enterprises became effective on March 31, 2023 and followed the issuance of the Notice on Filing Management Arrangements for Overseas Listings of Domestic Enterprises by the CSRC on February 17, 2013. The CZB stocks are securities eligible to be traded through Stock Connect, and so the project involved the filing of an allotment of shares by a Hong Kong-listed company to original domestic shareholders under Stock Connect.
CZB issued 5,014,409,033 A rights shares on the basis of three A rights shares for every 10 existing A shares. 4,829,739,185 A shares were duly subscribed for, raising an aggregate amount of approximately RMB 9,756 million and these shares were listed on the Shanghai Stock Exchange on July 6, 2023. The proceeds raised from CZB’s A+H share rights issue was approximately HKD 13.8 billion (equivalent to RMB 12.5 billion), which will replenish its core Tier 1 capital after the deduction of the relevant issue expenses.
CZB is one of 12 national joint-stock commercial banks. It officially opened in August 2004, with its head office located in Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province. CZB is the 13th A+H listed bank in China, and was listed on the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong in March 2016 and on the Shanghai Stock Exchange in November 2019.
JunHe acted as the sole global coordinator for the H share rights issue and the PRC legal counsel to the underwriter in the project since April 2022. JunHe’s team assisted CZB and the underwriter in reviewing and preparing the application documents to be submitted to the CSRC, the underwriting agreement, PRC legal opinions, corporate governance documents, the prospectus for the rights issue and other disclosure documents. With its consistent delivery of efficient and rigorous legal services and detail-oriented and professional expertise, JunHe was unanimously recognized by CZB and the other intermediaries.
The project was primarily undertaken by JunHe partners ZHAO, Jun and MA, Rui , with support from JunHe partner XIA, Ruhai for the internal review.
