Goldman Sachs helped a client sell 638 million H-shares of Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) (601398.SH, 1398.HK) at prices ranging from HK$5.81 to HK$5.93, reports the National Business Daily, citing a foreign media report. The selling price represents a discount of between one and three percent over closing prices of HK$5.99.

The market reportedly suspects the unspecified client could be American Express, which was no longer among the top-10 shareholders of ICBC as of June 30.

Goldman Sachs lowered its profitability estimates for domestic banks by an one to nine percent due to cyclical bed debt risks as a result of high expected inflation and a rapid surge in corporate leverage. Also, China has struggled to resolve regional governments’ financing platforms, and the required increase in core capital adequacy ratio added to uncertainties.

The American investment bank downgraded the target H-price of ICBC from HK$7.7 to HK$6.9. It lowered the A-share target price from 6.5 yuan to 5.8 yuan.

However, JPMorgan Chase foresees no systematic risk among domestic banks and predicts that Chinese banks’ share prices could rise by 20 to 30 percent around the end of the third quarter.

Source:capitalvue