01-10-2004, 10:29 PM
<b>CHINA READY TO BAIL OUT ANOTHER BIG BANK</b>
<b>REUTERS</b>[ SATURDAY, JANUARY 10, 2004 08:21:44 PM ]
SHANGHAI: China is preparing to bail out a third major bank, the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC), with an injection of about $40 billion as part of a bank recapitalisation drive that could cost up to $120 billion, a newspaper reported on Saturday.
China injected $45 billion into two of its Big Four banks at the end of December as part of a drive to prepare them for initial public offerings.
The planned injection into ICBC would, like the earlier bail-outs, be made from foreign exchange reserves, the Beijing-based China Business Post said, quoting an official with the banking regulator.
The bail-out would be followed by the successive listing of the Big Four - Bank of China, China Construction Bank, ICBC and Agricultural Bank of China , the state-owned Post said.
China said on Tuesday it had injected $22.5 billion each from its massive foreign exchange reserves of $403.25 billion into Bank of China and China Construction Bank.
Construction Bank would be listed in 2004, followed the next year by Bank of China, the paper said.
It said ICBC would be listed in 2006 and Agricultural Bank - which analysts have suggested was the weakest of the four -in 2007.
Cheers
<b>REUTERS</b>[ SATURDAY, JANUARY 10, 2004 08:21:44 PM ]
SHANGHAI: China is preparing to bail out a third major bank, the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC), with an injection of about $40 billion as part of a bank recapitalisation drive that could cost up to $120 billion, a newspaper reported on Saturday.
China injected $45 billion into two of its Big Four banks at the end of December as part of a drive to prepare them for initial public offerings.
The planned injection into ICBC would, like the earlier bail-outs, be made from foreign exchange reserves, the Beijing-based China Business Post said, quoting an official with the banking regulator.
The bail-out would be followed by the successive listing of the Big Four - Bank of China, China Construction Bank, ICBC and Agricultural Bank of China , the state-owned Post said.
China said on Tuesday it had injected $22.5 billion each from its massive foreign exchange reserves of $403.25 billion into Bank of China and China Construction Bank.
Construction Bank would be listed in 2004, followed the next year by Bank of China, the paper said.
It said ICBC would be listed in 2006 and Agricultural Bank - which analysts have suggested was the weakest of the four -in 2007.
Cheers