On 21 September 2017, advised by King & Wood Mallesons (KWM), Postal Savings Bank of China Co., Ltd. (PSBC) issued US$7.25 billion 4.5% non-cumulative perpetual offshore preference shares, raising a total of RMB47.8 billion. The transaction is the world’s largest preference share offering made by a financial institution since 2010, and also the largest in Asia to date.

Established in 2007, PSBC is a leading large-scale retail bank in China. The fund raised in this transaction will be used to supplement other tier 1 capital of the bank. The project is another major financing activity of PSBC in the international capital market after its initial public offering of H shares in 2016 and listing on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, further enhancing the international influence of the bank. Investors in this offering are diversified and widely distributed, among which, up to 30% are international investment institutions, including many world-renowned investment institutions, which reflects a high degree of recognition from the international capital market for PSBC’s operating strength.

KWM acted as PRC counsel for the underwriters in the transaction. Leveraging its wealth of experience in preference shares issuance, KWM provided in-depth legal services in all aspects of the transaction and was highly recognized by PSBC and other intermediaries. This is another successful transaction KWM advised on after PSBC’s listing in Hong Kong in 2016. The project was led by partners Zhou Ning and Liu Sijia.