SDB raises RMB 6.5 bln in subordinate bonds

Shenzhen Development Bank (SDB)<000001>, China's leading shareholding commercial bank, raised up to RMB 6.5 billion (US$922 million) by issuing a batch of 10-year subordinate bonds in the inter-bank bond market, according to its statement to the Shenzhen Stock Exchange.

The bank, in which the U.S. equity firm Newbridge Capital holds a 16.7% stake, launched the first capital trade with an aim to replenish its capital. The capital adequacy ratio is expected to breach the banking regulator's minimum requirement of 8% by the end of March after the bond sale, said the lender.

The capital adequacy ratio climbed to 5.77% at the end of 2007, compared with 3.71% a year earlier, according to its annual financial statement. Its 2007 net profit increased 103% to RMB 2.65 billion from a year earlier.