China's PSBC may file for US$8b IPO

Hong Kong

CHINA's Postal Savings Bank, the nation's biggest lender by number of branches, may file for a Hong Kong IPO worth up to US$8 billion next week, people close to the deal said, in what is expected to be the world's biggest listing of the year.

While the offering has come down in size from an up to US$15 billion mooted in December due to a slide in Hong Kong stocks, it is expected to draw much investor interest by virtue of its huge customer base and as it is considered to have a much lower ratio of bad loans than rivals.