Postal Savings Bank of China in talks over stake sale
Postal Savings Bank of China, one of the country's largest lenders and potentially the world's biggest by the number of branches, is in talks with potential investors about selling a minority stake before a possible listing, sources familiar with the company said.
"Large Chinese banks are a rare species in the listing market as most state-level lenders have gone public in the past 10 years," a source familiar with the firm said. "Introducing foreign capital from strategic investors before a share offering is a necessary step before turning itself into a publicly listed company."
A potential share sale by the bank could be worth as much as US$25 billion, matching Alibaba Group Holding's record-breaking initial public offering last year, the reported, citing unnamed investors.
The British media also said potential investors might include a financial unit of the Chinese e-commerce company, a US private equity firm and Asian sovereign wealth funds.
The cost of borrowing is an uneven playing field for state and private companies. The cost of capital for state-owned enterprises has been steady at 7 to 9 per cent since 2009, compared with well above 10 per cent for private companies, according to Boston Consulting Group.
Postal Savings Bank of China chairman Li Guohua said in a statement last month that the country's commercial banks needed to focus on lending to small firms as difficulties in obtaining finance had persisted for small businesses in the world's second-largest economy.
"Developing a peer-to-peer lending platform by commercial banks could be one of the solutions," said Li.
Morgan Stanley was mandated to line up potential investors ahead of any listings, the said. A Hong Kong-based spokesman at Morgan Stanley declined to comment on the pre-listing funding.
