The China Banking Regulatory Commission has approved Guangdong Development Bank's application for foreign shareholders, said a statement on the commission's website on Monday.

"After receiving applications from the GDB, we have conducted a strict qualification examination based on relevant laws and regulations. Then we decided to approve the new shareholders," said the statement.

"Capital transaction is scheduled to be completed from the new shareholders, the (U.S.-based) Citigroup-led consortium, to the GDB on Monday," the statement said.

The Citigroup consortium signed a purchase agreement of 24.27 billion yuan (3.03 billion U.S. dollars) with the GDB last month to acquire 85 percent of the bank, ending a lengthy battle with French bank Societe Generale and China's second largest insurer Ping An Group.

Among the six-member consortium, Citigroup, China Life Insurance Group, the nation's largest insurer, and the China Guodian Corp, a major electricity distributor, will hold 20 percent of GDB shares respectively. The other three institutes will hold the remaining 25 percent.

The GDB was established in 1988 and developed into a national bank with assets worth 370 billion yuan (46.25 billion dollars) and more than 12,000 employees.

"We have made progress in the GDB reform and restructuring, but much work is yet to be done before developing it into a modern commercial bank with international competitiveness," said the statement.

Source: Xinhua