Societe Generale has revealed its new partner in a group bid for an 85-percent stake in the Guangdong Development Bank (GDB), Shanghai Securities News reported Friday.

The bid plan shows Dalian Shide Group on the list for a 10-percent shareholding together with an unnamed Jilin-based enterprise.

Societe Generale, Bao Steel and Sinopec will each hold a 19.99-percent stake, while the Canada-based Caisse des Depots will hold five percent.

Dalian Shide Group, founded in 1992, is a privately-owned company with products and services in the petrochemical industry, home electrical appliance manufacturing, sports, healthcare and insurance. The group's net assets were nearly six billion yuan (750 million U.S. dollars) in 2003.

Societe Generale submitted details, including technical and management cooperation plans, on its bid worth 23.5 billion yuan (2.94 billion U.S. dollars) for GDB late on Thursday.

The local government has asked Citigroup to submit a similar report to the bank on its rival bid worth 24.1 billion yuan (three billion U.S. dollars).

The Chinese government rules state that a single foreign bank must hold less than 20 percent of the shares in a Chinese bank, and total foreign ownership cannot exceed 25 percent.

No further details of the Citigroup bid have been revealed, but under the rules, Citigroup's stake must be less than 20 percent, while its partners, China Life and China Guodian Corporation, will each hold more than 20 percent.

Source: Xinhua