Bank of Ningbo reduces size of private placement

Nov. 5, 2009 (China Knowledge) - Bank of Ningbo Co Ltd<002142>, one of three listed municipal commercial lenders in China, announced yesterday that it plans to downsize its private placement plan.

The lender now plans to issue a total of 383.8 million shares, rather than the 450 million it planned previously. The issue price will still be RMB 11.63 apiece.

Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp Ltd now plans to subscribe 146 million shares instead of 192.42 million shares. Its stake in Bank of Ningbo will rise to 15.34% from the 11.84% it held earlier, making it the largest shareholder.

Ningbo Electric Power Development Corp has agreed to buy 26 million shares. After the issuance, Ningbo Finance and Taxation Bureau and Ningbo Electric Power Development Corp will together hold 475 million shares or a 16.49% stake in the Bank of Ningbo.

The proceeds from the private placement will be used to replenish working capital and help the bank expand.

At the end of September, Bank of Ningbo's capital adequacy ratio was 11.25%, down 1.59 percentage points from the end of June.