Central Huijin increases stakes in major state-owned lenders

China's Central Huijin Investment Co. Ltd, a wholly-owned subsidiary of China's sovereign wealth fund China Investment Corp (CIC), has spent approximately RMB 1.22 billion in total to raise its A-share holdings in the three Chinese leading lenders, namely China Construction Bank Corp (CCB)<601939><939>, the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC)<601398><1398> and Bank of China (BOC)<601988><3988>.

Central Huijin has bought approximately 70.8 million A-shares in CCB for around RMB 277 million during the past two months, according to a statement released by the bank.

In addition, as of last Friday, Central Huijin has spent RMB 763 million and RMB 177 million on buying A-shares of ICBC and BOC, sources reported.

CCB, one of the country's four largest state-owned commercial banks, said earlier that Central Huijin purchased 2 million A-shares of the bank on Sep. 23.