The Agricultural Bank of China (ABC) recently received approval from securities regulators for its planned initial public offering (IPO) in Shanghai and Hong Kong. It is the last of China's "big four" state-owned commercial banks to go public. The bank has nearly 24,000 branches and 320 million customers.

The green light appears to have ended speculation that the long-awaited IPO might be delayed amid recent stock market turmoil. The Shanghai Composite Index has dived by more than 20 percent since mid-April while the Hang Seng Index has lost some 12 percent in the same period.

The bank plans to sell up to 22.24 billion A-shares on the Shanghai Stock Exchange and up to 25.41 billion shares in Hong Kong, excluding an over-allotment option. The IPO could possibly be the world's largest ever, surpassing a previous record of $21.9 billion set by Industrial and Commercial Bank of China in 2006.

Meanwhile, the bank will allocate 35 percent of its IPO to cornerstone investors to reduce pressure on weak stock markets, including Singapore's Temasek Holding Pte. Ltd. and Kuwait Investment Authority, said a report by China Business News.

The offering of preferential shares to cornerstone investors will hopefully ignite investor interest and show the deal has strong financial backing.