(Bloomberg) -- Dongguan Rural Commercial Bank Co. raised HK$9.1 billion ($1.2 billion) in its Hong Kong initial public offering after pricing shares at the bottom of a marketed range, according to people familiar with the matter. 

The lender sold shares at HK$7.92 apiece, said the people, who asked not to be identified as the information isn’t public. DRC Bank had marketed 1.15 billion shares for as much as HK$8.71. An external representative for DRC Bank declined to comment.

DRC Bank is raising funds in the Asian financial hub in a tough week for Chinese lenders. A number of China’s publicly-traded banks have rushed to assuage investors who are concerned about risks from the deepening crisis at China Evergrande Group and regulators’ broader crackdown on developers’ use of leverage. 

The bank lists its exposure to the real estate sector among risk factors in its preliminary prospectus, and said the industry accounts for 8.8% of its commercial loans as of March 31.

Adding to those concerns is the fact that bank IPOs tend to be closely scrutinized because of a long-standing rule in China barring state-owned companies from selling shares at prices below their book values.

DRC Bank was China’s fifth-largest rural commercial bank by assets as of the end of last year, according to the prospectus. The bank, based in the Pearl River Delta region, plans to use the proceeds for purposes including strengthening its capital base and supporting business growth.

The shares are due to start trading on Sept. 29. China Merchants Securities Co., CMB International Capital Ltd., Agricultural Bank of China Ltd., and Industrial & Commercial Bank of China Ltd. are joint sponsors for the offering. 

(Updates with company response in second paragraph.)

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