The Bank of China, one of the country's big four state-owned lenders, has
launched a far-reaching overhaul of its workforce to encourage nearly all its
management and staff to reapply for their positions.
The bank's staff
shake-up, ahead of a planned overseas initial public offering, puts it at the
forefront of a wave of banking sector reforms aimed at clearing the way for
overseas listings and the sale of stakes to foreign investors.
The Bank of China's listing, and that of the China Construction Bank at
around the same time, probably in late 2005, would each raise several billion
dollars and be among the largest in capital markets around the world.
The bank, which has 230,000 staff and more than 11,600 branches, will
complete its staff review on management positions and reform of the salary and
bonus system by the third quarter of next year.
A number of second-tier Chinese banks are also preparing for overseas or
local listings, in a crucial part of Beijing's efforts to transform the banks
into risk-driven lenders, rather than passive sources of cheap capital for
state-owned enterprises.
