Policy bank set for capital injection

The State Council has approved a capital injection into Agricultural Development Bank of China (ADBC), one of the country's three policy lenders, according to bank vice-president Liu Meisheng. Liu added that the Ministry of Finance is discussing the exact value of the injection with the central bank, the South China Morning Post reported. The funds would be used for agricultural development, the bank's core business and a cornerstone of government efforts to shore up the rural economy. ADBC is the second-largest of China's policy banks, ahead of Export-Import Bank of China and behind China Development Bank. All three issue billions of dollars in bonds every year to help finance government projects. In other banking news, GE Capital, Grupo Santander, BNP Paribas, Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria and an Asian investor were said to be still in the running for a 5-10% stake in China Citic Bank.