Shares of Agricultural Bank of China Ltd. (601288.SH) opened up 2.2% at CNY2.74 on their first day of trading in Shanghai, a lackluster debut by Chinese standards, reflecting investors' uncertainty about the rural lender's fundamentals.
The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index opened down 0.2% at 2465.99.
AgBank, the last among China's Big Four state banks to go public, sold shares in the Shanghai portion of its US$19.23 billion dual listing in Hong Kong and Shanghai at CNY2.68 each.
The offering is the third largest on record following Industrial & Commercial Bank of China Ltd.'s $21.93 billion IPO in 2006 and Visa Inc.'s $19.65 billion offering in 2008, according to data provider Dealogic (Holdings) PLC.
However, AgBank will take the top spot should it choose to fully exercise the overallotment option and expand its offering to $22.14 billion. Such a decision will depend on how its stock performs in the coming month.
AgBank's shares will start trading in Hong Kong on Friday.
