Morgan Stanley, HSBC and a Swiss bank were in talks to buy a combined 10 percent of China Construction Bank, China's top property lender, ahead of a long-waited initial public offering (IPO), sources close to negotiations said.

China Construction Bank, racing toward a US$3 billion to US$4 billion IPO as early as this year, was talking with several investors but discussions with those three "were more advanced," said a banking source close to the lender. The stakes would be separate, not joint.

The Chinese Government is moving to shore up the country's financial industry, which will face intensifying competition once the market is opened wider to foreign players at the end of 2006.

China Construction Bank and Bank of China, the nation's premier foreign exchange lender, have spearheaded reform ever since splitting a US$45 billion bailout in 2003.

The two lenders were recapitulated then as part of a government plan under which they were first to secure foreign strategic investors, then offer shares to the public. The other two big four banks are the Agricultural Bank of China and the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China. Analysts doubt that a listing this year is realistic.

Foreign banks, though willing to talk about opportunities, may not be interested in immediate stakes in such sprawling businesses, they say.

The Bank of China said last week that Deutsche Bank AG, UBS AG and Bank of America Corp. were among 10 banks negotiating for stakes in it.

Source: Shenzhen Daily/Agencies