ICICI Bank''s Rs8750 crore issue subscribed over two times

Mumbai: The Rs8,750 crore ($2.1 billion) domestic issue of ICICI Bank, India''s largest private sector bank, was fully subscribed within an hour of opening the issue on June 19.

By 2 p.m., the share sale, the largest in India, had received bids for at least Rs17,100, or 193 million shares, data posted on the National Stock Exchange web site showed.

With large funds vying for access to the private sector lender that is viewed as a pace-setter in the country''s financial sector, investors poured nearly two times into the $2.1 billion worth of shares being sold to domestic investors.

A similar-sized share sale in the US with a 15 per cent green shoe option by ICICI, which is listed both in Mumbai and New York, could push the total size of the fundraising to $4.9 billion

With assets of more than $79 billion -- behind only the public sector State Bank of India -- ICICI built its business by aggressively chasing consumer loans when India opened its economy in the 1990s and spurred rapid economic growth.

The bank has set an indicative price band of Rs885-950 a share, with retail investors getting a Rs50 discount to the final price that will be fixed after the issue closes.

The company is selling 19-20 per cent of its expanded share capital to fund loan growth while maintaining its capital adequacy ratio.

ICICI is about 72 per cent owned by overseas investors. Temasek Holdings Pte Ltd., a Singapore state-owned investment company, and Government of Singapore Investment Corp. together hold 9.61 per cent of its shares, according to the bank''s documents.

Merrill Lynch & Co. and Goldman Sachs Group Inc. are selling shares locally and abroad. Enam Financial Consultants and JM Financial Consultants are helping with the local sale.