In a research report, Deutsche Bank has raised its target price for BOC Hong Kong (HKG:2388) (BOCHK) by 19.4% to HK$24 with its "Buy" rating unchanged. The adjustment was due to the fact that BOCHK currently trades at an estimated 1.6 times the price-to-book ratio (P/B), below the historical mean of 1.8x P/B.

The brokerage firm sees offshore RMB lending in Hong Kong as the next growth driver for BOCHK and expects material improvement in net interest margin from 2013. Deutsche Bank has increased its earnings forecasts for 2012 and 2013 by 6.6% and 13.6% respectively.