In an unusual move for Asian rights issues, Temasek has agreed to buy Bank of America Merrill Lynch’s entire entitlement of new shares in China Construction Bank’s ongoing rights issue. News reports in recent days had suggested that the US bank, which is the second largest shareholder in CCB with 11.4%, may not be interested in buying more shares, which had caused some concern that the $9.2 billion offering could end up undersubscribed.
BoA Merrill could have disposed of its nil-paid rights in the open market, but the agreement to sell them directly to Temasek should be positive for CCB since the latter is already a shareholder in CCB and is also expected to...
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