Citibank: The valuation of Industrial and Commercial Bank of China remains attractive, with an H-share target price of HK$7.95.

Sina Finance reported on March 30th that Citigroup published a research report indicating that Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) recorded a 0.7% year-on-year increase in net profit to 368.6 billion yuan in the last year, and a 1.9% year-on-year increase in pre-provision profit to 554.5 billion yuan, slightly lower than the bank's expectations. In the fourth quarter, pre-provision profit increased by 3% year-on-year, benefiting from the improvement in cost-to-income ratio; net profit increased by 1.9% year-on-year, which was slower than the 3.3% in the third quarter, mainly due to the increase in credit costs dragging down, partially offset by the decrease in tax rates. Citigroup expects ICBC to receive a capital injection of about 100 billion yuan from China Investment Corporation (CIC), which is estimated to dilute earnings per share by approximately 3% to 4%, lower than Agricultural Bank of China. Taking into account the potential dilution, the current price of ICBC's H shares corresponds to a forecasted P/B ratio of 0.52 times in 2026, and a forecasted dividend yield of 5.2% in 2026, the valuation remains attractive. The bank set a target price of 7.95 Hong Kong dollars for ICBC's H shares and rated it as "buy."