2010-12-01 15:05

China's National Social Security Fund is offering stock in the Hong Kong initial share sale of a commercial bank from Chongqing, expanding the size of the lender's offering, Bloomberg reported, citing three people familiar with the matter.

The State pension fund is offering 185.5 million shares in Chongqing Rural Commercial Bank, boosting the amount of stock available for sale by 9.3 percent, said the people, who declined to be identified before an announcement.

Some 2.19 billion shares are being offered to investors at HK$4.50 (58 cents) to HK$6, according to a term sheet sent to investors on Dec 1. That compares with 2 billion shares previously. The price range is unchanged, the terms show.

Morgan Stanley and Nomura International are managing the sale for Chongqing Rural, the largest lender to agricultural and small businesses in China's most populous city.

Chongqing Rural plans to list in Hong Kong on Dec 16 with the ticker 3618, the term sheet shows. The initial sale would raise $1.69 billion if priced at the top end of the range and before the exercise of an overallotment option, the document shows.

Chen Han, a spokeswoman for the pension fund said she had no information about the matter. A call to the bank's board of directors in Chongqing was answered by a man who declined to comment or give his name.

Companies have raised a record $49.2 billion from Hong Kong IPOs this year, according to data compiled by Bloomberg that include overallotment shares.