A source who had exclusive knowledge of the matter revealed on Monday that a whopping USD545 million was received by Huishang Bank Corp Ltd from its cornerstone investors in its public listing. The investors who placed investment commitments in the bank's initial public offering included Chow Tai Fook Enterprises Ltd and Chinese property group China Vanke Co Ltd. The other three were two other individuals and an investment firm. The source refused to be identified as the matter was deemed private.

Cornerstone investors who had invested in IPOs are granted guaranteed allocation. In exchange, these investors would have to retain their ownership stakes for an agreed time period.

Chow Tai Fook's businesses vary from property development, casino, hotel, jewelry and transportation, among others.

The IPO would be launched on Tuesday. Huishang intended to raise up to USD1.3 billion in its IPO, which was said to be the biggest listing on the Hong Kong bourse in three years.