China Bank IPO Sets Off Gongs at Stock Exchange

Filed in archive IPOs on July 6, 2006

The gongs were beating at the Shanghai Stock Exchange as shares of Bank of China, one of the
Middle Kingdom's "big four" lenders, made a strong debut in Shanghai yesterday as the new number one stock choice on China's stock markets. It's no wonder that the influential global law firm, O'Melveny & Meyers has just issued its new China IPO newsletter alert for its preferred clients. It's a valuable read.

OMM's Asia rainmaker, Howard Chao has forwarded this abbreviated memo outling some of the new regulations related to the Shanghai Stock Exchange and listings:

"These Guidelines are intended to guide all companies listed on the Shanghai Stock Exchange in their establishment of complete, reasonable and effective internal control systems. Under the Guidelines, the basic framework of such internal control systems must at least cover three different areas: (i) the listed company, (ii) internal departments and subsidiaries of the listed company; and (iii) business operations of the listed company. The Guidelines contain some specific and comprehensive provisions for each of these areas. For instance, in the area of listed companies, the Guidelines require that the following factors must be considered when establishing and implementing internal control systems: goals of internal control, corporate culture, risk determination and evaluation, risk management strategy, information management, inspection and supervision, etc."

BOC's initial public offering was valued at a substantial $2.5 billion U.S. the largest-ever in China's market, and its equities, totaling 253.8 billion shares, dwarfed the 86.7 billion shares of former front-runner Sinopec Corp.

The shares sale marked another milestone in China's efforts to clean up a banking sector that has long been a weak link in the country's booming economy as a result of decades of state-directed lending.

Although some China financial analysts still regard China's banking system as frail and primitive, the bank's mighty gong resonates way beyond the Great Wall.