Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, the world’s largest commercial bank by assets, will issue the first euro-denominated contingent convertible bonds by a Chinese bank as part of a $5.6bn multicurrency deal in Hong Kong.
ICBC’s plan to sell coco bonds also includes the largest sale of offshore renminbi bonds — referred to as CNH, its currency code — with a tranche worth Rmb12bn ($1.95bn), far ahead of an Rmb8.4bn debt sale by the Chinese government in May. The euro tranche, at €600m, was the smallest of the three.
The deal marks the second foray into the offshore market by an onshore Chinese bank selling cocos, which count as capital under the new global rules known as Basel III. Bank of China, the country’s fourth-largest lender, sold $6.7bn in cocos in Hong Kong in October, all priced in dollars.