China Minsheng Bank will aim to raise up to $4.68bn through Hong Kong's largest initial public offering this year in a move that should solidify China's dominant position in the global IPO market.

中国民生银行(China Minsheng Bank)计划通过在香港上市，最多融资46.8亿美元，这将是香港今年规模最大的首次公开发行(IPO)，此举将巩固中国在全球IPO市场的主导地位。

The country's first privately-owned lender will embark today on a long-delayed roadshow in preparation for what will also be the world's fourth-largest IPO of 2009, if the shares are priced at the top end of a range of HK$8.50-HK$9.50.

中国第一家私有银行今天将启动一场拖延已久的路演活动，为香港IPO做准备。如果新股发行价定在8.50港元-9.50港元区间的高端，这还将成为2009年全球第四大IPO。

If successful, Minsheng's listing will give China five of the top 10 global IPOs this year.

如果发行成功，民生的上市将使中国在今年全球10大IPO中占据5个。

The bank plans to sell 3.32bn shares, or 15 per cent of its enlarged share capital, to raise as much as $4.1bn and could sell an additional 498m shares to take the total up to $4.68bn under a “greenshoe” option if the offering is heavily oversubscribed, which is often the case in Hong Kong.

民生银行计划发行33.2亿股，即扩大后股本的15%，筹资至多41亿美元。此外，如果股票得到超额认购，该行还可以根据“绿鞋”选择权超额配售4.98亿股，使得最终筹资额达到46.8亿美元，这种做法在香港很常见。

Unlike almost every other Chinese lender, Minsheng was established with investment from private entrepreneurs and virtually no state funding in 1996, but it is still effectively controlled by the government through Communist Party appointments of top executives.

和几乎其它所有中国银行不同，民生银行是在1996年凭借私人企业家的投资成立的，几乎没有任何国有资金投入，但实际上依然受到政府控制，高层管理人员都由共产党任命。

The bank was listed on the Shanghai stock exchange in 2000 and has suspended previous plans to list in Hong Kong on at least two occasions.

该行于2000年在上海证券交易所上市，此前曾至少两度暂缓在香港上市的计划。

People involved in the sale said there was huge interest from institutional investors wanting to buy into the cornerstone tranche of the issue but the final price of the shares will be set in 10 days, depending on the result of the roadshow. Shares are expected to start trading in Hong Kong on November 26.

参与此次发行的人士表示，机构投资者兴趣巨大，希望购买此次发行的基石部分股份，但最终发行价将在10天后决定，取决于路演结果。新股预期将于11月26号在香港上市交易。

IPOs in Hong Kong are open to global investors and allow Chinese companies to raise foreign exchange, while Shanghai listings are only open to domestic investors who cannot freely convert their funds out of renminbi.

香港股市的IPO向全球投资者开放，使中国公司能够筹集到外汇资金，而沪市上市新股仅面向国内投资者，他们无法自由地将人民币资金转换为其它货币。

Minsheng's plans to expand beyond China's borders were dealt a blow on Friday when United Commercial Bank, a large San Francisco-based lender with branches in Hong Kong and Shanghai, became the 120th US bank to fail this year.

民生的海外扩张计划上周五遭受打击：总部位于旧金山的一家大型银行——联合银行(United Commercial Bank)成为今年破产的第120家美国银行，该行在香港和上海均设有分行。

Minsheng owns 9.9 per cent of UCBH Holdings, United Commercial's parent company, and had already been forced by the end of September to write down 93 per cent of the $126m it has invested over the last two years.

民生持有该行母公司联合银行控股公司(UCBH) 9.9%的股份，且已在9月底被迫将过去两年1.26亿美元的投资减记93%。