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BOC inquiring share sale by Li Ka-shing

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2009-01-08 09:50

The Bank of China (BOC) is seeking information on Hong Kong tycoon Li Ka-shing's reported sale of BOC shares, and the bank's spokesman said on Wednesday it has not yet been noticed by the Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) Group on any intention of share unloading.

Li's Magnitico Holdings Ltd is offering 2 billion shares in the BOC for as much as $524 million, Bloomberg News reported Wednesday, citing a stock sale document.

BOC spokesman Wang Zhaowen told Xinhua that his bank is looking for more information on this matter, since Li did not directly buy the shares from the BOC and had no duty to inform the bank of the selling.

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Li's sale followed the move of UBS AG, which sold 3.378 billion H-shares it held in the BOC last week when their lock-up period expired.

There have been growing concerns that western banks would sell their shares in Chinese lenders to ease their own pressure as global financial crisis spread.

Up to now, the investor group led by the RBS Group hold 8.25 percent of the BOC's shares, while the Singapore-based Temasek Holdings and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) have 4.13 percent and 0.2 percent respectively.

The RBS-led group, which included Magnitico and four other investors, acquired the BOC H-shares stake in 2005 in preparation for BOC's initial public offering on the international market.

Four foreign strategic investors, including the RBS-led group, Temasek, the ADB and the UBS purchased a total 16.85-percent stake in the BOC in 2005, with a combined investment of 5.14 billion U.S. dollars. Their shares were locked up until the end of 2008.

BOC was one of China's top four commercial lenders, listed in Hong Kong and Shanghai. Its H-shares fell 3.17 percent to HK$2.14 (27 US cents) on Wednesday, while its Shanghai-listed A shares slid 1.96 percent to 3 yuan.