Bank of Communications to Issue Shares

BEIJING, March 15 (Xinhua) -- The Bank of Communications, China's fifth largest lender, said Thursday it will issue shares through private placement in Shanghai and Hong Kong to replenish its capital base.

The bank will raise 56.6 billion yuan (8.93 billion U.S. dollars) through the private placement, according to a statement posted on its website.

The bank said it will issue 6.54 billion yuan-denominated A shares at 4.55 yuan per share and 5.84 billion Hong Kong dollar-denominated H shares at 5.63 Hong Kong dollars per share.

The share placement is aimed at satisfying the capital needs of the company to achieve sustainable and stable business, as well as meeting the increasingly stringent regulatory requirements for capital adequacy, according to the statement.

As of September 2011, the bank's core capital adequacy ratio was 9.24 percent, falling short of the requirement by China's banking regulator.

Last August, the China Banking Regulatory Commission issued a draft on banks' capital adequacy to comply with international regulatory accord known as Basel III.

The draft requires the country's large banks to have a minimum core capital adequacy ratio of 9.5 percent and a minimum capital adequacy ratio of 11.5 percent.