As part of its joint-stock reform in preparation for its impending share-offering, the Bank of China (BOC), one of China's "Big Four" state-owned commercial banks, has sacked 20 local branch directors for breach of duty, a BOC spokesman was quoted by the Beijing Youth Daily as saying on Thursday.

These former directors of BOC branches were dismissed mainly because their mismanagement had resulted in considerable losses for the BOC, spokesman Wang Zhaowen said.

The BOC, which is seeking to list later this year, posted operating profits for 2004 that surged 21.3 percent year-on-year to 57.8 billion yuan (about US$7 billion). 2004 net profits were level with 2003, amounting to 20.9 billion yuan (some US$2.5 billion).

Despite the attempts at joint-stock reforms, the BOC is still plagued by serious issues. "The BOC has loopholes in its self-management and risk-control mechanisms," Wang said.

(Xinhua News Agency June 3, 2005)