Minsheng raises HK$30.1b from public float

China Minsheng Banking Corp, the nation's first privately owned lender, raised HK$30.1 billion in Hong Kong's biggest public share sale since April 2007, three people familiar with the matter said.

Minsheng sold 3.32 billion new shares, or a 15 percent stake, at HK$9.08 apiece, just above the mid-point of a HK$8.5 to HK$9.5 range, the people said, declining to be identified before an official announcement. The final price values the bank at about 1.77 times its estimated 2010 book value, two of the people said.

Chairman Dong Wenbiao is seeking to plug a shortfall in the bank's capital adequacy ratio, which fell to the second-lowest among the nation's 14 listed lenders in the second quarter and threatens to stunt profit growth.