HSBC boasts of second-largest common equity offering YTD

Proceeds will be for Basel III requirements.

For 2014 Asia-Pacific common equity, Hong Kong lender Hongkong & Shanghai Banking Corp. Ltd.has the second-largest offering year-to-date.

According to a research note from SNL Financial, the second-largest offering in 2014 was Hongkong & Shanghai Banking Corp. Ltd.'s US$1.39 billion common stock offering completed June 27.

The Hong Kong lender issued about 4.29 billion shares at the equivalent of 32.25 U.S. cents each.

The report said that the bank plans to use the proceeds to meet Basel III capital requirements.

Here's more from SNL Financial:

The largest year-to-date offering came from Malaysia's Public Bank Bhd., which on July 18 completed a US$1.52 billion rights offering.

The bank plans to use the proceeds from the sale to shore up its capital to fund growth and meet Basel III requirements.

The company issued 350,212,513 new shares at the equivalent of US$4.34 apiece, giving existing shareholders the right to receive 1 new share for every 10 shares they held.

State Bank of India in January closed a US$1.28 billion follow-on offering, the third-largest common equity sale and the largest follow-on offering in 2014 by an Asia-Pacific lender.

Like its peers in the region, State Bank of India will use the new funds to augment its capital adequacy ratio and for general corporate purposes.

China's Harbin Bank Co. Ltd. is the only SNL-covered Asia-Pacific bank that went public in 2014. In a March IPO, the bank raised US$1.13 billion, which Harbin Bank said will be used to strengthen its capital base and support business growth.

With the share sale, Harbin Bank became the fourth Chinese lender since November 2013 to list shares in Hong Kong, instead of China. Chinese regulators lifted a ban on domestic IPOs in late 2013, which had been enforced as part of efforts to restore investor confidence by curbing fraud and irregularities.

Rounding out the top five common equity offerings year-to-date through Aug. 31 was a US$1.07 billion follow-on offering by Malaysia-based CIMB Group Holdings Bhd., which was wrapped up Jan. 22.

Combined, the five largest offerings accounted for slightly more than 45% of total equity raised through the end of August, and the group includes all year-to-date deals larger than US$1 billion.