(Hong Kong, 30 June 2017) – First Capital Securities Limited (“FC Securities”), a wholly-owned subsidiary of China First Capital Group Limited (“CFCG” or the “Group”; stock code: 1269), is the Joint Bookrunner and Joint Lead Manager of the Initial Public Offering (“IPO”) of Zhongyuan Bank Co. Ltd., (“Zhongyuan Bank”; stock code: 1216), the largest city commercial bank in Henan Province, which commenced today.

Zhongyuan Bank is offering a total of 3.3 billion shares globally, with the offer price range at between HK$2.42 and HK$2.53. The estimated proceeds from the exercise will reach the highest up to approximately HK$8.463 billion. The Hong Kong public offer which began on 30 June 2017 will close on 11 July 2017, and is expected to be listed on the Main Board of HKEX on 19 July 2017.

Zhongyuan Bank is the largest city commercial bank and also the only provincial government-administered city commercial bank in Henan Province. According to the CBRC Henan Office, Zhongyuan Bank ranked first in total assets, total deposits, total loans to customers, total shareholders’ equity and total operating income and number of branches as at and for the year ended 31 December 2016. The Bank has a business network that covers the entire Henan Province. As at 31 December 2016, it had a 439 outlets and branch network including a head office, 17 branches, 421 sub-branches (305 city-level and 116 county- and township-level sub-branches), in all 18 prefectural-level cities and 82 counties, approximately 80% of all counties in Henan Province. In 2015 and 2016, it was named “The Best City Commercial Bank” by the Institute of Finance and Banking of the Chinese Academy of Social Science and Financial News continuously.

At the presentation on the listing roadshow, Mr. Dou Rongxing, Chairperson of Zhongyuan Bank, said, in the future, the bank will continue to seek guidance from its three major development strategies – “to offer traditional banking business with special features, to innovate and achieve breakthroughs and to strive to for business leadership in the future”, in establishing strict risk management and internal control systems and continuing to offer efficient, convenient and customized innovative financial services to customers, which will enable the bank to keep expanding its service scope and strengthen its brand image, and ultimately become a top grade commercial bank in China.

Apart from Zhongyuan Bank, FC Securities has also participated year-to-date in four IPO projects, including that of China YuHua Education (stock code: 6169), Minsheng Education (stock code: 1569), Luzhou Xinglu Water (stock code: 2281) and China New Higher Education (stock code：2001). With the global economy picking up gradually, giving a boost to investment sentiment, it is expected that more IPOs will be taken place in the Hong Kong stock market in the second half of the year. Furthermore, with the People’s Bank of China having approved and announced “Interim Administrative Measures for the Bond Connect” recently, the Bond Connect scheme can hopefully commence in the foreseeable future and present new opportunities to the securities trading industry. FC Securities will continue to seize different opportunities and take the lead in the market in order to enlarge its market share.