Beijing-based Huaxia Bank plans to raise about five billion yuan (HK$4.68 billion) through a domestic listing of A shares this year, according to executives.
The flotation will make it the fourth bank to list domestically, following Minsheng Bank's 4.1 billion yuan initial public offering last December.
The other two banking stocks in China are Shanghai Pudong Development Bank and Shenzhen Development Bank.
The former is listed in Shanghai and the latter Shenzhen.
The planned flotation is in line with Beijing's drive to encourage financial institutions to list to expand their capital bases and enhance capability ahead of China's World Trade Organisation entry. Huaxia, one of China's 10 shareholding banks, plans to seek a domestic listing in a bid to raise funds for business growth, including branch expansion, according to an executive with the bank's listing office. It planned to raise about five billion yuan and issue 600 million A shares, which are reserved for mainlanders, an executive said.
The listing would be this year but the exact timetable would depend on approval by the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC), he said.
Nanfang Securities is the underwriter of the offering.
