The initial public offering (IPO) of China Merchants Bank, the 6th largest lender in the Chinese mainland, was priced at HK$8.55 (US$1.10) per share Saturday.

The price hit the upper end of the offering price between HK$7.3 and HK$8.55. The bank''s stock will begin trading in the Hong Kong stock exchange on September 22.

The retail tranche of the bank''s Hong Kong IPO has been oversubscribed by 265 times, with its international tranche 35 times oversubscribed.

A clawback mechanism will be applied due to oversubscription, and the number of shares allocated to retail investors will be raised to 20 percent of the total 2.2 billion shares offered from the original 5 percent.

China Merchants Bank is the second mainland bank after Bank of China to list both its ''A'' and '' H'' shares, and is the fourth mainland bank to be listed in Hong Kong. It has been listed on the Shanghai stock exchange since 2002.

The bank''s assets stand at 824.3 billion yuan (US$103.6 billion). It has loans totaling 531.6 billion yuan and holds deposits of 703.6 billion yuan.

The bank estimated that its profits for 2006 would jump 47 percent to 5.5 billion yuan. -China Daily