The IPO of one of the mainland's largest property insurers, The People's Insurance Company of China, which is currently undergoing bookbuilding as it seeks to raise up to US$3.6 billion, is setting a bit of a record with no less than 17 bookrunners - or senior underwriters - assigned to gather orders from institutional investors.
This is no doubt due, in part, to an understandable need to reassure its board and shareholders that no stone has been left unturned to generate demand. It is also reflective of how well some houses market their capabilities.
When it comes to making a hard sell, investment banks are the cream of the crop - and expert at discarding subtlety.
Here follows an appetiser of what prospective issuers can expect to be subjected to.
Any firm attending a beauty parade will usually deploy a senior figure, often with a chairman or vice-chairman title, based in a high-profile but distant financial centre like New York or London. They will invariably promise to "personally" ensure the deal has the "absolute priority" of the bank, and that - if mandated - the full array of its resources will be made available.
But except in rare cases, this luminary is never seen again, other than as host to one of the roadshows, or the closing dinner. I was told of two recent occasions where one such financier retired soon after the pitch while the other jumped ship to another firm after pledging ever-lasting commitment.
