Bank of Lanzhou Prices Shares Below Book Value

Bank of Lanzhou Co. Ltd., a state-backed regional bank in northwest China’s Gansu province, became the first publicly traded bank to sell shares below book value when it completed a delayed initial public offering Tuesday on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange.

The bank sold 569.6 million shares of common stock at 3.57 yuan ($0.56) per share, raising 2.033 billion yuan ($319 million). The price indicated a price-to-book ratio of 0.82, the bank said Tuesday. A ratio of less than 1 could mean the stock is undervalued. The bank said setting an IPO price lower than its net assets per share might better protect the interests of investors.