Zhongyuan Bank Co., Ltd. (“Zhongyuan Bank”) recently announced the completion of the allotment of 3.15 billion new H-shares, which represents 45.36% and 13.56% respectively of the post-allotment H-share capital and the total share capital. The allotment was done at a price of HKD 1.80 per share, and raised a total amount of HKD 5.67 billion, all of which would be used to replenish the core tier 1 capital of Zhongyuan Bank. This is the largest allotment of H-shares in the banking industry since 2019.
In the project, JunHe was appointed to advise CITIC CLSA Ltd., China International Capital Corporation Hong Kong Asset Management Limited and China Merchants Securities (HK) Co., Ltd., the sales agents and joint global coordinators for the allotment. JunHe assisted the clients by conducting Chinese legal due diligence, issuing legal opinions regarding Chinese law for the completion of the allotment, and providing advice on Chinese law in relation to the allotment. JunHe’s team maintained the professional, efficient and meticulous attitude it has consistently kept in its past practice to facilitate the consummation of the allotment. The completion of this project was one of the condition precedents of the merger by Zhongyuan Bank of Luoyang Bank, Pingdingshan Bank and Jiaozuo Zhonglu Bank.
Zhongyuan Bank was established in December, 2014. It is the only provincial bank which is a legal entity and has branches located around Henan province. On July 19, 2017, Zhongyuan Bank was listed on the main board of the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong Ltd. (SEHK). By the end of 2021, the total assets of Zhongyuan Bank reached RMB 768.2 billion, ranking 185th on the Banker Top 1,000 World Banks list and 24th on the Fortune China 500 list.
The project was led and undertaken by partner FENG, Cheng.