Bigger and better: Our Deal of the Year 2006

As preparations are in full swing for Agricultural Bank of China's supposedly record-breaking initial public offering, it has been an interesting exercise to re-read the stories we wrote leading up to Industrial and Commercial Bank of China's $21.9 billion dual listing in Shanghai and Hong Kong -- the transaction we chose as our Deal of the Year in 2006.

While these two banks have historically had a reputation of serving different segments of the market partly a legacy of the type of clients and lending the government has pushed them to pursue, ICBC battled many of the same issues in the lead up to its listing, including a concern that a deterioration in economic...