28 September, 2016
On 28 September 2016, Postal Savings Bank of China Co., Ltd. (PSBC) had its H shares successfully listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, with King & Wood Mallesons (KWM) advising its underwriters. PSBC’s initial public offering comprised a total of 12.1 billion H shares issued globally, pricing at HK$4.76 per H share, which raised approximately US$7.4 billion (subject to the over-allotment option). As a leading retail bank with the largest distribution network and customer base in China, PSBC’s HK listing not only marks the world’s largest IPO this year, but also the world’s largest new listing since Alibaba’s US listing in 2014, and HK’s largest IPO since 2010.
Established in 2007, PSBC is the youngest large commercial bank in China. Six cornerstone investors were introduced in the listing, namely, China Shipbuilding Industry Corporation, Shanghai International Port Group, HNA Group, State Grid Corporation of China, China Chengtong and Great Wall Pan Asia International Investment. They jointly subscribed approximately 6.77 billion offer shares and additional offer shares of US$1.547 billion. The joint sponsors were China International Capital Corporation Hong Kong Securities Limited, Morgan Stanley Asia Limited, Merrill Lynch Far East Limited, Goldman Sachs (Asia) L.L.C. and J.P. Morgan Securities (Far East) Limited, while the sole financial advisor was UBS AG Hong Kong Branch.
KWM acted as PRC legal counsel for the underwriters in the transaction, providing legal solutions and advice on all aspects of PSBC’s HK listing. The project was led by partners Zhou Ning, Liu Sijia and Su Zheng.
Partner Zhou Ning commented, “We’re honoured to participate in PSBC’s HK listing, which is another significant IPO KWM team advised on. We leveraged our strengths of cutting edge practice and extensive experience. Following China’s economic transformation, we’re ready to continue to provide clients with first-class legal services in domestic and overseas securities and capital markets, and help them realize their business goals.”
