Jan. 16, 2007 (China Knowledge) – China Construction Bank (CCB) is mulling a listing on the Mainland stock market, although the timing has yet to be set, said the bank’s vice president Fan Yifei. As the Mainland’s third largest commercial bank, the Hong Kong-listed CCB wants to return with a domestic listing as its major business outlets and clients are on the Mainland, said Fan. He added that the date, as well as whether to list Chinese Depository Receipts (CDRs) or launch an A-share IPO, are still under discussion. The question whether to list CDRs or shares has been widely debated. Fan prefers listing CDRs as the problem of different pricing for A-shares and H-shares can be avoided. On the other hand, listing CDRs is time-consuming as the Mainland currently has no basic legal framework for CDRs. The decision, however, lies ultimately in the shareholders. CCB was the first of China’s Big Four banks to be listed in Hong Kong in October 2005. All the other big four banks – Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) and Bank of China – subsequently followed suit. Agricultural Bank of China, plagued with bad loans and poor corporate governance, remains the only Big Four bank yet to be listed.
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