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Leading international law firm Herbert Smith Freehills has advised Huatai Financial Holdings (Hong Kong) Limited, CLSA Limited, China Securities (International) Corporate Finance Company Limited and China Merchants Securities (HK) Co., Limited as placing agents and joint global coordinators on the HK$5,670 million placement of Zhongyuan Bank Co., Ltd. (01216. HK).

A city commercial bank in Henan province in China, Zhongyuan Bank ranked 186th amongst the top 1,000 banks in the world by The Banker (UK) in 2020 and the 31st among PRC banks on the list. Zhongyuan Bank was on Fortune’s list of China’s top 500 enterprises in 2020, ranking the 23rd amongst the commercial banks on the list.

The placement comprises approximately 3,150,000,000 new H shares at a price of HK$1.80 per share. These shares account for approximately 15.69% of the existing issued shares of Zhongyuan Bank and approximately 13.56% of the issued shares as enlarged by the placing. Proceeds from the placement will be used to replenish core tier-1 capital of the bank.

Partner Jeremy Shen led the Hong Kong team advising on the deal. Senior associate Jaime Fong and trainee solicitor Colbert Hung provided support. Senior foreign registered lawyer Jin Kong advised on US securities aspects of this transaction.

"We maintain long-standing partnerships with issuers and intermediaries and have been recognised for our quality advice on capital markets transactions," said Jeremy. "We are delighted to have assisted in this high-profile fundraising, which reflects the continued depth and breadth of the investor pool in the Hong Kong market."

领先的国际律师事务所史密夫斐尔在中原银行(01216.HK)56.7亿港元增发中为配售代理和联席全球协调人华泰金融控股、中信里昂证券、中信建投和招商证券提供咨询。

中原银行是河南省一家城市商业银行,2020年在英国《银行家》全球1000家银行排行榜上排名第186位,在上榜的中国银行中排名第31位。中原银行荣登《财富》2020年中国企业500强榜单,在上榜商业银行中排名第23位。

本次增发包括约3150,000,000股新H股,每股作价1.8港元,约占中原银行现有已发行股份15.69%,以及经配售扩大后已发行股份13.56%。配售所得款项将用于补充银行一级核心资本金。

史密夫斐尔合伙人沈志良(Jeremy Shen)率领香港办公室团队为该笔交易提供咨询。方靖颐(Senior Associate)和洪从译(Trainee Solicitor)提供支持。资深外国注册律师孔瑾(Jin Kong)就该交易的美国证券方面提供咨询。

沈志良表示:“史密夫斐尔与发行人和中介机构保持着长期的合作关系,在资本市场交易方面的高质量法律服务备受认可。我们很高兴为这项备受瞩目的融资交易提供协助,这反映了香港市场投资者的深度和广度。”

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Jeremy Shen photo

Jeremy Shen

Partner, Hong Kong

Jeremy Shen

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For further information on this article please contact

Sally Greig

Head of Communications, Asia

Hong Kong

Media contact

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Vivian Huang

Communications Manager, China

Beijing