Bank of China (file photo)

BEIJING, June 7 (Xinhua) -- Bank of China (BOC) President Li Lihui has confirmed China's number two lender is planning to offer shares on the inland market following its Hong Kong listing last week, a news report said Wednesday.

    Li, quoted by the Xinhua-run Shanghai Securities News, said BOC has "kicked off procedures to apply for A-share offering." They are expected to be put on offer in two months.

    BOC is projected to raise approximately 20 billion yuan (about 2.5 billion US dollars) when it issues a maximum of 10 billion shares, the most of any Chinese company listed in the renminbi-denominated A-share market. The bank's total assets and net assets also dwarf other public firms.

    China also has a smaller B-share market for trading of foreign currency shares.

    The new share offering would help further boost BOC's capital base, after it raised 9.7 billion U.S. dollars from a recent initial public offering -- the world's biggest in six years -- in Hong Kong.

    Its so-called H-shares have surged more than 20 percent by Tuesday since their debut last Thursday.

    Liu Mingkang, China's top banking regulator, said Tuesday in Beijing the BOC listing was "very successful."

    "Facts have proven that the Bank of China has strong risk management abilities," said Liu, chairman of the China Banking Regulatory Commission.

    The country is overhauling its state-owned, debt-laden banking sector prior to fully opening the financial market to foreign banks by the end of this year under a WTO commitment. The overhaul includes writing of the banks' bad debts, restructuring them into share-holding companies, seeking strategic foreign investors and allowing them to go public.

    Nevertheless, Liu noted, no decision has yet been made on whether to loosen the restrictions that prevent foreign banks from owning more than 25 percent of a Chinese bank. Enditem