Bank of America to increase stake in Huijin's CBC

Bank of America Corp, the second-largest U.S. bank by assets, plans to exercise part of its call option to raise its share in Huijin's China Construction Bank Corp (CCB).

It plans to buy 6 billion H-shares in CCB from Central Huijin Investment, pursuant to the agreement the two signed in June 2005. Huijin is an investment arm of the Chinese government.
After the deal, the US lender's share in CCB will be boosted to 10.75% or 25.1 billion H-shares while that of Huijin will be reduced to 65.4%. It hopes to complete the deal on Jun. 5, Bank of America said.

Under the agreement, the shares purchased under the option may not be eligible for sale until Aug. 29, 2011, without CCB's written permission.