China Minsheng Banking Corp is planning to issue up to 6 billion yuan (US$724.6 million) of subordinated bond, the bank announced in a circular published in a major securities newspaper Tuesday.

The plan has just been approved by the board of the Shanghai-listed bank, also the first and only private bank in China.

The bond is expected to carry a term of 10 years, but holders can also choose to terminate the bond at the end of the fifth year, the circular said.

But Minsheng did not give details of the bond issue, such as the interest rates.

It will hold a general meeting of shareholders on September 10 to discuss the proposal. And if approved by the shareholders, the overall plan still needs the permission of the China Banking Regulatory Commission (CBRC), a bank spokeswoman said Tuesday.

Meanwhile, Minsheng is also preparing for a public offering in Hong Kong, she said, though no timetable was revealed.

It was said that the H share offering would help cover the expenses of the bank's new branches, facilities purchases and technological development.

Market sources have estimated the H share offering, a rare one by an A share company, to be sized at around US$1 billion and to be launched within the year.

And the bank has also been seeking foreign strategic investors before its Hong Kong listing.

Issuing subordinated bond, which ranks behind other liabilities in terms of claims on bank assets, is expected to boost the capital adequacy ratio of the bank, especially during fast business expansion, without exerting more pressure on the stock market.

It would therefore have a positive effect on the bank's A share listed in Shanghai, analysts said.

Several other domestic listed banks have sought similar measures to raise capital adequacy levels. Shanghai Pudong Development Bank and China Merchants Bank have completed their subordinated bond issuance. And Huaxia Bank got CBRC's approval for a 4.25 billion yuan (US$512 million) subordinated bond offer last month.

Some State-owned lenders also seek the same tool to enhance capital strength and bring their capital adequacy ratio to international level.

Bank of China and China Construction Bank, both on the way to a public listing, sold 14 billion yuan (US$1.7 billion) and 15 billion yuan (US$1.8 billion) subordinated debts respectively last month.

Normally, the major buyers of such subordinated bonds are domestic financial institutions, including banks and insurance companies, though some analysts also cast doubts on the fast pace of subordinated bond issuance recently and the fact that some banks are actually buying from each other.

Minsheng's A share ended 1.67 percent higher Tuesday to 6.71 yuan (US$0.81).

(China Daily August 11, 2004)