HONG KONG -- State-run Bank of China, the country's largest foreign exchange lender, is in active discussions with U.S. investment bank JP Morgan over a possible stake sale, a local newspaper said on Monday.
Bank of China said it planned to pick five to six foreign strategic investors for a stake sale by the end of August, one of which is JP Morgan, the Apple Daily wrote, citing unidentified sources.
Banks that have said they are not in talks with Bank of China over strategic stakes include HSBC Holdings Plc. and Deutsche Bank AG.
Getting foreign investors involved in its management is seen as a key to ensuring efforts to turn the bank into a modern and commercially sound institution.
China injected $45 billion into Bank of China and China Construction Bank late last year to help them restructure and eventually list shares to cope with greater competition from late 2006, when foreign banks technically gain near-full access to the market.
