The Chongqing Commercial Bank says it has sold a 17 percent stake to Hong Kong-based Dah Sing Bank.

The deal, worth about 700 million yuan (about 87.5 million U.S. dollars), follows an agreement signed in Hong Kong last year. The agreement has been approved by the government, said sources from the Chongqing Commercial Bank.

The HK bank bought into the Chongqing bank at a price of 2.02 yuan a share.

The Chongqing Commercial Bank has announced its plan to go public on one of the two Chinese mainland markets though the exact schedule for the IPO is yet to be decided, according to bank chairman Zhang Fu.

According to previous reports, the Chongqing Commercial Bank is still awaiting the go-ahead for the sale of a separate 7.99-percent stake to Carlyle, the Washington-based private equity fund.

Founded in 1996, the Chongqing Commercial Bank has 67 outlets and 1,300 employees, and its capital base totals 2.01 billion yuan (251 million U.S. dollars).

The assets of the bank snowballed to 33 billion yuan (4.13 billion U.S. dollars) last year. It had a 1.53-percent non-performing loan ratio, and its profits topped 500 million yuan (62.5 million U.S. dollars).

Source: Xinhua