Shanghai Pudong Development Bank Co, which failed to raise all the money it targeted in a January stock sale, picked China Galaxy Securities Co and two other Chinese brokerages to help it raise funds to bolster capital.

A branch of Shanghai Pudong Development bank at the Shanghai Pudong Airport. [File Photo]

Pudong Bank picked Galaxy, Shenyin & Wanguo Securities Co and Guotai Jun'an Securities Co to help it raise money in China, said Shenyin's investment banking manager Ma Lungkuan. He didn't say how much the bank plans to raise or whether the bank will sell bonds or securities convertible into stock.

Pudong Bank, in which Citigroup Inc owns a 5 percent stake, needs to raise the money to keep its capital at 8 percent of risk-weighted assets in line with global rules. Pudong Bank said its 8.3 percent capital adequacy ratio has fallen since June, as it increased lending and the total number of bad loans rose.

"All commercial banks will need to raise funds to meet the ratio requirement as they expand lending as China's economy continues to grow," said Xu Rongjian, an investment banker at China Everbright Securities Co, which managed Pudong Bank's January sale. It wasn't picked this time.

Like its rivals, Pudong Bank needs to boost capital to meet the central bank's rules, improve risk management and compete with domestic and overseas rivals.

China's second-biggest publicly traded lender in January failed to sell 18 percent of the 300 million shares it offered to investors. The bank priced the shares at the bottom of its target range and almost halved the offer to 2.54 billion yuan (US$307 million).

Ma declined to comment on a report in the 21st Century Business Herald that Pudong Bank may raise up to 7 billion yuan. Citigroup's spokeswoman in China Li Wang also declined to comment.

Pudong Bank last Thursday met officials from 12 brokerages in Shanghai, and picked the three arrangers from the group, Ma said. Haitong Securities Co, Citic Securities Co and China International Capital Corp were among the brokerages that met Pudong Bank, he said.

The plan comes as rival China Merchants Bank was criticized by minority shareholders for planning a 10 billion yuan convertible bond sale.

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