On 29 September, as advised by King & Wood Mallesons (KWM), Bank of Communications Co., Ltd. (BOCOM) completed its non-public issuance of 450 million domestic preference shares to be traded on the Shanghai Stock Exchange. The preference shares are issued at par value of RMB100 per share with a coupon rate of 3.90%. The issuance which raised a total of RMB45 billion is the largest transaction in preference shares undertaken by a commercial bank with the lowest coupon rate so far in 2016.

The present issuance is BOCOM’s another equity financing project following its issuance of US$2.45 billion (RMB15 billion) offshore preference shares on 29 July 2015, which would effectively replenish BOCOM’s Additional Tier-1 Capital.

KWM acted as legal counsel for the issuer, bringing the project to fruition with efficient and comprehensive legal services. The same KWM legal team also advised BOCOM on its issuance of offshore preference shares in July 2015. The present project was led by partners Yang Xiaolei, Su Zheng and Liu Dongya.

Partner Yang Xiaolei commented, “We are honored to have advised BOCOM on another issuance of preference shares, helping the client reach their objective. We are proud to assist leading financial institutions in China, such as BOCOM, which is a KWM’s long-term client, with a number of preference shares issuance projects by leveraging our years of experience and continuous innovation in the capital markets. The market for preference shares as an emerging investment in China is growing rapidly. As the reliable partner in this field, we expect to assist more clients capitalizing on the market opportunities and achieving future landmark projects.”