ICBC's share listing has attracted a host of foreign investors

It hopes to sell a 22% stake in itself and raise up to $21bn (�11bn), which would set a new record for a listing.

China's surging economy has created huge demand for banking services and forced the sector to modernise.

International share offerings are part of this process - since June 2005 four lenders have raised $25bn by listing.

Foreign interest

Last week, China Merchants Bank, the country's sixth-biggest lender, raised $2.4bn from a Hong Kong share offering.

Some analysts have warned off investors, pointing to Chinese banks' problems with bad loans, fraud investigations and antiquated computer systems.

But it has not stopped foreign investors from moving in to grab a slice of the sector.

A US-German consortium including Goldman Sachs, American Express and Allianz has signed a deal to acquire 10% of ICBC for $3.8bn.

The Kuwait government has agreed to buy $720m shares, making it the largest single subscriber to ICBC's share offering.

ICBC was set up by the Chinese government in 1984 and has 21,000 branches, 360,000 staff and 150 million customers.