The Agricultural Bank of China (ABC), the only unlisted lender
among China's four major state-owned commercial banks, said on
Sunday that media reports involving a capital injection were
unfounded.
Bank spokesman Zhou Qingyu said reports that Central Huijin -- a
government-sponsored investment company -- would inject 45 billion
U.S. dollars to 50 billion U.S. dollars into the bank by April were
untrue. "The statement is not accurate, and it misleads
readers."
He added ABC's reform and listing plan were still under
discussion, and before it becomes public, "any information not
released by state authorities or the bank itself is unfounded".
Chen Xiwen, head of the Office of the Central Leading Group on
Rural Work, said the exact amount needed for the restructuring was
to be determined after governmental approval on Friday at a press
conference.
Bank president Xiang Junbo told the lender's 2008 work
conference late last month it was striving to become a large public
commercial bank in about three years.
In response to reports saying the bank plans to get listed in
2010, Zhou said the bank would go public "at an appropriate time"
after it finishes the financial restructuring, as well as
incorporation, and introduces strategic investors. "It could be any
time in the next three years."
ABC reported a profit of 96 billion yuan (about 13.3 billion
U.S. dollars) last year, up 64 percent from 2006.
In 2007, the bank's deposit business increased 549.7 billion
yuan, while its loan business increased 330.4 billion yuan. It also
cleared 57.4 billion yuan in bad loans.
(Xinhua News Agency February 4, 2008)
