Postal Savings Bank of China raises 45b before expected IPO

Customers at a Postal Savings Bank of China Co branch in Qingdao, Shandong province. [Photo/China Daily]

BEIJING - Postal Savings Bank of China (PSBC) has attracted investment worth 45.1 billion yuan ($7.05 billion) from ten high-profile strategic investors with approval from the China Banking Regulatory Commission, PSBC said on Wednesday.

Previously wholly owned by the State-owned China Post Group, PSBC will sell 16.92 percent of its stake to ten global strategic partners, including global financial institutions such as JP Morgan Chase and UBS Group AG, State-owned China Life Insurance and China Telecom, as well as Chinese Internet giant Tencent and Alibaba-owned Ant Financial.

"This is not only a win-win partnership between PSBC and strategic investors, but a great example of beneficial cooperation between China and the rest of the world," said Lyu Jiajin, president of PSBC.

China Life Insurance, China's largest life insurer, announced on Tuesday night that it will buy 3.34 billion shares of PSBC for 13 billion yuan ($2.03 billion) fully in cash.

With the largest number of branches among Chinese banks, the PSBC is expected to file for an IPO in Hong Kong next year. The private fundraising is seen as a strategic step before the IPO.