CCB considers acquisiton

China Construction Bank (CCB), the country's third largest commercial bank, is interested in buying Bank of America's Asian banking unit, the Hong Kong Standard reported. Quoting market sources, the newspaper said CCB is reviewing financials of Bank of America (Asia) and, as of Tuesday, had not made an offer. CCB has been looking for a suitable acquisition since its failed bid for Asia Commercial Bank in February. Bank of America (Asia), whose parent company has a 9% stake in CCB, has 17 branches in Hong Kong and Macau and its net profits in 2005 were US$69 million. CCB is mainland China's largest mortgage lender but has little experience with commercial lending. In 2005 it reported a 4% drop in profits to US$5.9 billion.