Beijing Extends Lock-Up Period For Banks

The lock-up period for new foreign investors in Chinese banks is to be stretched to five years from the present three, according to Liu Mingkang, chairman of the China Banking Regulatory Commission (via Caijing). Foreign shareholders been selling what were meant to be strategic stakes in the big banks in order to bolster battered balance sheets. Bank of America cashed in part of its stake in China Construction Bank, and Royal Bank of Scotland and UBS both sold their entire stakes in Bank of China. Goldman Sachs, though, said it wouldn’t sell more than 20% of its stake in Industrial and Commercial Bank of China. Message to foreign investors: If you are coming to China, be prepared to stay awhile.