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ICBC sets up joint stock comany
(Xinhua)
Updated: 2005-10-27 10:46
The Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) set up a joint-stock
company Tuesday with registered capital of 248 billion yuan (30.6 billion US
dollars).
The company, named ICBC Stock Co., Ltd., was jointly launched by the Ministry
of Finance and Central Huijin Investment Company, said government sources.
The new company inherits the business and concerned assets and liabilities of
the former ICBC.
"Joint-stock reform is not the final goal and the establishment of the stock
company is merely a start," said Vice Premier Huang Ju during his inspection
visit to ICBC Wednesday.
More efforts should be made to improve the corporate governance structure,
further reform the incentive and restrictive mechanism and tighten risk
management, said Huang.
State commercial banks play an important role in China's financial industry.
It is urgent to push forward the joint-stock reform of commercial banks as the
interim period after China's entry into the World Trade Organization (WTO) is
about to end, which means the banking industry will have to open up, Huang said.
The Fifth Plenary Session of the 16th Central Committee of the Communist
Party of China held earlier this month urges a quicker pace in China's financial
reform, said the vice premier.
Bank reform has been more urgent as China prepares to meet commitments to the
WTO -- opening its financial markets to foreign competitors by 2006.
Three other state banks -- the China Construction Bank (CCB), Bank of China
(BOC) and Agricultural Bank of China (ABC) -- are all on similar reform
agenda.
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