The national banking regulator said on Monday that state banks
are not being sold too cheaply through stock market listings and
that there are stringent requirements for foreign strategic
investors.
Chairman Liu Mingkang of the China Banking Regulatory Commission
(CBRC) told a press conference organized by the State Council's
Information Office that foreign investors are asked to hold a
minimum stake of 5 percent and are not allowed to sell that within
three years.
They are also required to send directors to the Chinese banks to
help decision-making and encouraged to bring in senior managers,
said Liu.
He said investors should boast sophisticated banking experience
and technologies, as well as sound wishes to cooperate with Chinese
banks.
Meanwhile, the CBRC stipulates that a single foreign financial
institution should invest in no more than two Chinese banks, which
Liu said is aimed at "avoiding conflicts of interest and
monopolies."
These criteria for foreign investors mean they actually have
very limited chances for speculative profits, he said. "They have
to exert their own efforts so as to achieve long-term cooperation
and win-win results with Chinese banks."
The October 27 listing of China Construction Bank in Hong Kong
-- the first by a Chinese state bank -- has led to allegations that
its initial public offering price was too low, which Liu also
denied.
(Xinhua News Agency December 6, 2005)