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)