Agricultural Bank of China needs all the friends it can get as it prepares for what could be the world’s largest Initial Public Offering next month. With markets nervous and some questions about the asset quality of China’s big banks, AgBank is taking no chances at its seeks to raise $23bn-$28bn.

So, it is little suprise to see another partner go public today, with Standard Chartered Bank announcing a strategic alliance with AgBank. The emerging markets specialist is following hot on the heels of RaboBank, of the Netherlands, one of the world’s biggest agricultural lenders.

Neither have so far said whether they would actually buy AgBank stock, perhaps joining some big Asian institutions as cornerstone investors who have agreed to back the IPO. But it would be strange if they did not make some sort of commitment soon. Continue reading »