On October 7, China Minsheng Banking Corp., Ltd. (Minsheng) announced its plan to spend 2.5 billion yuan purchasing the shares of UCBH Holdings, Inc., an American banking company. This is the first time that a Chinese bank has bought into a US native banking company. 

According to Minsheng's plan, the Chinese bank will take three steps to buy 20 percent of UCBH Holdings' shares over the next several years.

UCBH Holdings was established in San Francisco in 1974. Its holding company, United Commercial Bank, is the US' largest commercial bank serving Chinese communities. With assets totaling as much as US$10.35 billion, UCBH Holdings has 66 subsidiaries in the US, most of which are located in California. It also has established branches in Hong Kong and offices on the Chinese mainland, for example Shenzhen.

For more details, please read the full story in Chinese. (http://www.caijing.com.cn/newcn/home/headline/2007-10-08/32623.shtml)

(China.org.cn October 8, 2007)