The battle to win the two to three bookrunners slots for a roughly HK$15 billion $1.9 billion secondary offering of shares in the government-controlled train operator is shaping up to be one of the most competitively fought mandates of the year. On offer is the position of government adviser, for which BNP Paribas Peregrine and ING Barings have been shortlisted and global coordinator, for which nine other banks are in the running.
These nine comprise ABN AMRO, Bank of China International BOCI, Credit Suisse First Boston, Deutsche Bank, Goldman Sachs, HSBC, Merrill Lynch, Morgan Stanley and UBS Warburg. Most believe that winning will hinge on whether the government decides...
