China approves set up of first national stock commercial bank in eight years

China's State Council approved Tuesday the set up of the first national private lender in eight years in Tianjin, a coastal city east of Beijing.

Bohai Bank will become China's first national stock commercial bank in the past decade since 1996 and the first of its kind based in Tianjin, a major port city and economic hub in northern China's Bohai Bay economic zone, to boost the region's financial growth.

British-based Standard Chartered is expected to become the bank's second largest shareholder after signing a deal last November to take a 19.99 percent stake.

Bohai Bank, if its operation in Tianjin is going well, will set up branches in China's other major economically developed regions such as eastern China's Yangtze River Delta, the Tianjin government said.

The Bohai Bay economic zone currently has only one commercial bank -- the Minsheng Banking Corp. -- which is seen by many as a hindrance to its economic development.

Source: Xinhua