Based on their track record in the recent years. I think I will not invest in any other stock that it buys.
Temasek to invest in AgBank
SINGAPORE/HONG KONG - SINGAPORE'S state investment fund Temasek plans to invest up to US$300 million (S$420.3 million) in the Agricultural Bank of China, ahead of its roughly US$20 billion IPO, a source with direct knowledge of the matter said on Saturday.
Temasek's commitment to China's third largest bank is a positive step for the offering, though it is less than the US$1 billion that AgBank's underwriters are hoping to get from Middle East and Asian sovereign wealth fund cornerstone investors.
So-called cornerstone investors are a key layer of financial backing for an IPO. AgBank's Shanghai-Hong Kong listing will be the world's largest ever IPO if it exceeds US$21.9 billion. Temasek declined to comment. AgBank could not immediately be reached. The source was not authorised to speak on the record about the deal. Reuters earlier reported that Temasek, and sovereign funds from Kuwait and Qatar were expected to sign on to AgBank's offering.
The Beijing-based bank, founded in 1951 by Mao Zedong as the rural unit of the central bank, is still known as a customer base spread across China's far-flung parts, though it does a have a major presence of most of the country's major cities.
AgBank today boasts nearly 24,000 branches and employs more than 441,000 people, eclipsing Industrial and Commercial Bank of China and China Construction Bank, the world's two biggest banks by market value. If AgBank raises more than the US$23 billion it hopes, it will be the world's largest ever IPO, beating out ICBC's US$21.9 billion dual listing in 2006.
AgBank is China's third largest bank, with US$1.4 trillion in assets. It also has 320 million customers, a base larger than the population of the United States. The Beijing-based company is run by Xiang Junbo, 53, a scriptwriter and war hero, who previously served at top posts in China's central bank and National Audit Office. The sources say the IPO is expected to price on July 7, with a debut the following Thursday or Friday. -- REUTERS