The speed with which the domestic IPO was launched, just a month after the Hong Kong listing, caught many in the market unaware.
“We were very surprised to see they did the IPO so fast,” says a senior banker. “It’s an aggressive move.”
The aggression can be attributed to the government, which is increasing the pace of its domestic market reforms. As such, the Bank of China deal is a watershed for the domestic markets. Barely a year ago, officials attempted a simultaneous offering in Hong Kong and Shanghai of another mainland lender, Bank of Communications. The Shanghai listing was shelved after it became apparent that the market could not bear the additional capital.
Yet the Bank of China IPO has passed off with barely a ripple of dissent and mainland investors have queued up to buy...
