Citic bank aims for listing in three years
The banking flagship of China's largest investment company hopes to seek an overseas listing in the next three years, group chairman Wang Jun said yesterday.
Mr Wang said Citic Industrial Bank, wholly owned by China International Trust and Investment Corp (Citic), was aiming to cut its non-performing loan (NPL) ratio to below 5 per cent, from 8 per cent last year.
As part of the move, the mid-tier bank would try to maintain its capital adequacy ratio at the minimum requirement of 8 per cent of its capital. Citic last year injected six billion yuan worth of bonds into Citic Industrial, bolstering its capital adequacy ratio from just 5.85 per cent to 8 per cent.
But rapid loan growth is putting a drain on the bank's capital.
Mr Wang, speaking on the sidelines of the opening session of the 10th Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference yesterday, said the bank could issue subordinated debt as an alternative to equity funding to meet capital needs.
The bank could raise up to eight billion yuan, but Mr Wang said five billion yuan would be sufficient to meet its needs over the next few years.
With the lower bad loan ratio and stronger capital base, the bank would be able to show off its balance sheet to global investors by then, he said.
Meanwhile, he said the group still wanted to have equity links between Citic Industrial and Hong Kong's Citic Ka Wah Bank, saying it was a necessary move.
Last year, a group restructuring involving the acquisition of its two banking arms fell through.
