The list of institutions widely reported at the end of June as comprising the cornerstone investors for the long-awaited IPO of Agricultural Bank of China says much about the new realities of post-crisis banking. While in the past China bank listings were propped up by substantial investments from western firms, such banks as UBS and RBS have long since sold their stakes in order to raise recovery capital.
Now the list of cornerstones for the ABC deal is full of top investors from the Middle East and Asia. The sovereign wealth funds of Qatar, Kuwait and Singapore are in for reported sums of $2.8 billion, $800 million and $200 million respectively, while Hong Kong tycoons including Li Ka-shing and Lee Shau-kee as well as top China state-owned enterprises...
