China's securities regulator will review China Construction Bank's proposal to list on the domestic stock market on Friday, the China Securities Regulatory Commission announced on its Website late last night.

China Construction Bank Corp plans to sell nine billion shares, which account for 3.85 percent of the company's outstanding stocks, to raise about US$7.5 billion.

Companies in China typically sell stock within a month after getting regulatory approval.

Shares of China Construction Bank on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange have gained 37 percent since it first announced a Shanghai stock offering plan on June 15.

In October, 2005, the bank made its debut on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange and raised almost US$9.2 billion. It is the last among the five Hong Kong-listed Chinese banks to sell A shares in the Chinese mainland.

China Construction Bank, established in 1954 to fund roads, bridges, dams and other infrastructure, now has the most mortgage and real-estate loans in China. It provides 22 percent of the nation's mortgages and about 13 percent of overall loans.

The company's profit jumped 47 percent in the first half of this year from a year earlier on more lucrative lending and increased fee-based services. The bank's bad-loan ratio of 2.95 percent at June 30 was the lowest among China's four largest state banks.

The Shanghai Composite Index, which tracks yuan-denominated A shares and US-dollar B shares surged 98 percent this year, making it the world's best-performing and most expensive primary index. Domestic investors have opened 33 million accounts for trading stocks and mutual funds this year, six times the total for 2006.

(Shanghai Daily September 4, 2007)