 Foreign investors have been buying into China's biggest lender |
China's biggest lender, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC), has seen its profits jump by more than 20%. The state-owned bank reported operating profits of 90.2bn yuan ($11.2bn; �6.3bn) in 2005, up from 15.5bn yuan in the previous year.
The government is preparing ICBC for a possible public share offering outside mainland China later this year.
Beijing sold a 10% stake in the bank to Goldman Sachs, Allianz and American Express in August last year.
Bad debts
ICBC was given a $15bn capital injection by the government earlier in 2005 to help the bank cope with a legacy of bad loans.
China plans to fully open its banking sector to foreign competition in 2006, as a precondition to its admission to the World Trade Organization (WTO).
The Chinese banking sector is estimated to contain $1.5 trillion in personal savings.
Overseas banks are also being wooed by the growing number of Chinese financial houses seeking to float on Western stock exchanges, which can offer a quick return on investments.
One-Minute World News 
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