The dual listing of Industrial & Commercial Bank of China (中国工商银行) in Hong Kong and Shanghai has created a wave among retail investors in the mainland and HK. On October 27, ICBC, the largest lenders in China, wants to raise $22 billion by listing A and H shares simultaneously in Asian’s most lucrative exchanges.
Apart from ICBC’s dual listing being the first and biggest of its kind, the webcast roadshow they put on attracted the largest crowd ever. ICBC’s used Chinastock.com (中国证券网) as their platform for the roadshow. About 100 corporate investors and millions of retail investors “attended” the roadshow which included the two roadshow teams currently in the US and Europe. The 4-hour roadshow attracted some 2,000 questions. ICBC and the Underwriters answered 300 of them. Questions from the audience included topics such as industry growth and dividend distribution. At the end of the roadshow, the hosts were encouraged to see the enthusiasm towards their A shares; and the retail investors were pleased that they would be able to make a more informed decision. With the sheer number of prospective retail investors in China, this is one of the best examples of using technology to facilitate deliberation among groups. So what will be the future of prospectus? More and more investors are asking for CDs, and now there comes the success of an electronic roadshow. Law firm associates who are drafting prospectuses beware!
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