Agricultural Bank of China is wisely taking account of the market headwinds it faces as it prepares its $21bn-plus IPO for next month.

In pricing the shares late on Wednesday at HK$2.88-HK$3.48 each for the Hong Kong offering (with details of the parallel Shanghai sale yet to come), the bank is valuing itself at 1.55 to 1.79 times estimated 2010 book value. This is a significant discount to two high-profile peers – ICBC, on 2.23 times, and China Construction Bank, on 2.18 times. But it is in line with Bank of China, which trades at 1.59 times estimated book value.

However, there is still some time before final pricing on July 6 and the stock market launch on July 15 in Shanghai and July 16 in Hong Kong. Given the cautious state of the markets, the underwriters will be hoping no more storms upset sentiment. They can, perhaps, rely on the Chinese authorities to keep a lid on bad news from China. But the rest of the world is another matter.