BofA buys stake in CCB

Bank of America will pay about US$2.5bn for a 9% stake in China Construction Bank and will buy another $500m in shares at the IPO later this month, surpassing the HSBC/BoCom deal as the biggest foreign investment in a Chinese bank, the Financial Times reported. Foreign investors have been hesitant to buy stakes in Chinese banks because of limited control and the banking sector's history of corruption and non-performing loans. BofA, which currently earns only 6% of its revenues outside the US, hopes to break into the China market with this strategic purchase.