China Construction Bank (CCB), the world's second-largest lender by market value, plans to issue up to 80 billion yuan in subordinated bonds to improve its capital adequacy ratio, the bank said in a statement Thursday.

The bank's shareholders approved its bond issue plan at a board meeting. The term of the bonds will be longer than 10 years, according to the statement.

The bank raised 40 billion yuan successfully through bonds sale earlier this year.

Soaring loan growth and higher capital adequacy ratio requirements have prompted Chinese banks to shore up capital through bond issues. Chinese banks issued 2.67 trillion yuan in new loans in the first two months of this year, up 159 percent over the same period last year, according to figures from the central bank.

CCB is due to release its 2008 earnings late Friday.

(China Daily March 27, 2009)