Initial public offerings do not come much sexier than this. Bank of China is tapping the markets for $10bn and, as a play on China’s stonking economic growth, will very likely end up with over $11bn – making it the world’s biggest listing in seven years.

The offering is priced to go, at a range of between 1.9 and 2.2 times 2006 book value (including IPO proceeds). That shows how far Chinese banks have come in a short space of time. Just seven months ago, China Construction Bank listed at 1.9 times book. Now it trades at about 2.6 times, outstripping most of its Hong Kong peers.