By Bei Hu, Bloomberg

HONG KONG: Industrial Bank, which is part-owned by Hang Seng Bank, a unit of HSBC, plans a public offering in mainland China as shares of rival banks soar.

The China Securities Regulatory Commission's listing committee was set to meet Monday to review the Industrial Bank's plan to sell as many as 1.33 billion new shares, according to documents posted on the commission's Web site Friday. No details on price or timing were given.

Chinese banks, including Bank of China, have seen their mainland-listed shares surge after selling stock in 2006, enticing smaller competitors to follow suit. The benchmark Shanghai and Shenzhen 300 index more than doubled in the past year as the end of a moratorium on share sales helped revive investor sentiment.

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Posted by pichu at January 7, 2007 10:37 PM