ICBC (Asia), a wholly-owned subsidiary of ICBC, has recently issued additional tier-1 Basel III USD capital instruments (AT1 bonds) worth USD 1 billion in Hong Kong, creating various new records such as the lowest yield of AT1 USD bonds in the world, highest-rated AT1 USD bonds in Asian banking industry, and the largest volume of AT1 bonds issuance in Hong Kong banking industry.

ICBC (Asia)’s AT1 bond issuance has been well received in the market, with subscription of over USD 6.8 billion from 184 investors from Asia and Europe upon the fix of the final price, representing a seven-time oversubscription. Investors from Asia accounted for 88% and investors from Europe, Middle East and Africa accounted for 12%. The successful issuance of AT1 bonds can effectively contribute to the tier-one capital adequacy ratio and total capital adequacy ratio of ICBC (Asia).

Experts pointed out that as the first issuance of bank capital instrument after Britain's referendum on European Union membership, the issuance of AT1 bonds demonstrates  ICBC (Asia)’s strong financial innovation, market response and management execution, which carries strong implications in improving the brand and impact of Chinese financial institutions in global capital market.