China CITIC Bank Corporation denied on Thursday earlier media reports saying it is bidding for a stake in the US investment banking and securities firm Bear Stearns.

The bank said in a statement to the Shanghai Stock Exchange that it has not held any talks with Bear Stearns or any other relevant parties and no intention or agreement was reached on buying shares of Bear Stearns. Until now, the bank has no plan to acquire a stake in Bear Stearns, according to the statement dated October 16.

The nation's seventh-largest lender by assets also pledged that it will not draw up a bidding plan within at least the next three months.

On Tuesday, media cited Jiang Dingzhi, vice-chairman of the China Banking Regulatory Commission, as saying that China CITIC Bank was bidding for part of Bear Stearns, which was hard hit in the US sub-prime crisis.

(Xinhua News Agency October 18, 2007)