ICBC unit approved to sell 1.63b yuan ABS

The China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) has approved a plan by Industrial & Commercial Bank of China Leasing (ICBC Leasing) to offer 1.63 billion yuan ($261 million) in asset-backed securities (ABS), the company announced Monday.

ICBC Leasing - a wholly-owned subsidiary of ICBC, China's largest commercial lender by asset value - is the country's first financial leasing company owned by a banking institution to offer ABS to investors on the mainland, a development which comes as these leasers search for more funding to expand their operations, according to one of the country's top banking experts.

Specifically, the ABS from ICBC Leasing will be tied to the assets of aviation, rail and shipping projects with high credit ratings. The company offered no timetable for the sale.

In early 2007, Chinese regulators started allowing domestic banking institutions to develop financial leasing businesses under the supervision of the China Banking Regulatory Commission (CBRC). Financial leasing units controlled by trading companies and other non-banking institutions were cleared to operate under the supervision of the Ministry of Commerce in 1981.

Recommended Features: [Special]'Made in China' Revisited From 'Made in China' to 'Created in China' A Journey to Cultural Renaissance The Vision of A Pillar Industry China: A Fast-growing Force in IPR IPR in China: Local Roots Bearing Global Fruits A Decade of Fastest Development Eastern Boom Lightens Western Gloom Chinese firms 'potential Trojan horses'？