Regarding a New York Times report about the
non-performing loans in China's banking industry, China
Construction Bank Corporation issued a statement today, claiming
the report "is absolutely untrue and ungrounded." The following is
the full text of the statement:
China Construction Bank Corporation (CCB) is aware of a recent
report from New York Times regarding the non-performing
loans in China's banking industry, including CCB. We would like to
solemnly state that the report's allegation on CCB's intention to
withhold information about the bank's non-performing loans in 2004,
which is based on the information from a source, is absolutely
untrue and ungrounded.
CCB has strictly complied with the laws and regulations of the
People's Republic of China (PRC), as well as the regulatory
requirements of the judiciary district, in which the bank's shares
are listed. As a listed public company, we have made all necessary
information disclosure required by the laws and regulations. We
have developed stringent loan classification standards in
accordance with the requirements of the regulatory authorities of
China and our place of listing, and with reference to the
international practices. A set of loan classification procedures is
also developed based on the standards. All financial statements
disclosed in our IPO prospectus, including the information on our
asset quality, have been audited by an independent accounting firm
(KPMG), which has also provided its unreserved audit opinion.
We believe media and public supervision is an integral part of
the corporate governance system of modern banks. As a listed
company, we will continue to provide accurate information for
shareholders and the public in accordance with the laws, market
rules and Articles of Association. We also hope that the concerned
media can adhere to the principle of objective and neutral
reporting, and reveal truly the facts of our operations. We reserve
the right to take legal actions against any damage on our
reputation and infringement of our shareholder interests.
(Xinhua News Agency November 15, 2006)