Construction Bank to split in two

The China Banking Regulatory Commission announced that the China Construction Bank will be split into two companies as part of plans to reform the bank for listing on international markets, according to Chinese media reports. The two new entities will be called China Construction Bank Corp and China Construction Bank Group. China Construction Bank Corp will control commercial banking operations and will seek a stock market listing. China Construction Bank Group will be a shareholder of China Construction Bank Corp and will not be directly involved in commercial banking. Analysts said that Chinese banks are trying to boost their competitiveness before World Trade Organization commitments come into effect. After 2005, overseas banks will have unrestricted access to the mainland banking sector.