China Securities Regulatory Commission on Friday approved the yuan-denominated A-share listing plan of China Construction Bank (CCB), one of the nation's four big state-owned commercial banks.

The approval will make CCB to lead the return of the giant red-chip companies, including China Mobile, the world's largest handset operator by the number of subscribers, and Petro China, the nation's largest oil producer, to the mainland stock exchanges.

Red chips are mainland firms incorporated outside the mainland and listed in Hong Kong.

The bank, Chinese partner of the American Bank, said it plans to issue no more than 9 billion shares, less than 3.85 percent of the expanded capital after the initial public offering.

The CCB is expected to raise some 60 billion yuan (US$8 billion) if the initial public offering is priced at the closing price of 6.84 HK dollars per share in Hong Kong on Friday. It said all the money will be used to boost its capital adequacy ratio.

The size of CCB's IPO is set to overtake the 46.6 billion yuan of the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) in October last year to become the biggest ever domestic share listing.

The bank may start trading of its A-shares on the Shanghai Stock Exchange before October 1, a source with its research department told Xinhua on condition of anonymity.

Earnings per share with the CCB in the first half of 2007 was 0.15 yuan, compared with 0.12 yuan of the ICBC and Bank of China.

Its non-performing loans ratio stood at 2.95 percent at the end of June, lower than the 3.29 percent half a year ago.

(Xinhua News Agency September 8, 2007)