A PSBC spokeswoman declined to make immediate comment on the filing. PSBC's planned offering comes against the backdrop of a nearly 60 percent drop in Asia-Pacific share offerings, ex-Japan, in the first half of 2016 amid the weakest activity since 2008. Share sales in the region have been hit by volatile equity markets, China's slowest growth in 25 years and growing uncertainty after Britain's vote to leave the European Union. PSBC, which has more than 40,000 branches nation-wide and is considered to have a much lower ratio of bad loans than rivals, was set up as a deposit-taking bank in 2007, using the network of the former postal savings bureau. The lender plans to sell up to 13.9 billion Hong Kong shares and use the proceeds to bolster its balance sheet, according to a statement on the website of the China Banking Regulatory Commission on June 24.