Bank of China, the country's top foreign-currency lender, hoped to choose strategic investors in the first quarter of 2005, its president said this week.

"We hope to decide on this in the first quarter of next year. We haven't reached a decision yet," bank president Li Lihui told reporters in Beijing.

"Negotiations are still continuing," Li said.

Earlier in December, Bank of China denied reports it had agreed to sell a 10 percent stake to Germany's Deutsche Bank and that it planned to sell nearly a quarter of its shares to three foreign investors this year.

The Beijing-based bank had initially hoped to sign up big investors months ago, but then said in October it was aiming for early 2005.

Source: Shenzhen Daily-Agencies