Minsheng forms panel to probe tampering
China Minsheng Banking Corp will form an independent team to investigate the falsifying of a document in its domestic listing in 2000.
The move is seen as an attempt to prevent the issue casting a pall over the lender's looming US$1 billion listing in Hong Kong.
The mainland's sole private lender, which has A shares listed in Shanghai, said the four-member team would comprise three existing independent board directors and a fourth person from overseas who had yet to be appointed.
The board made the decision yesterday following the bank's admission last week that staff had tampered with a document.
The bank told the Shanghai Stock Exchange that officials preparing for a listing in 2000 held a temporary board meeting to approve a name change, then faked a resolution purporting to be from a shareholders' meeting to meet registration requirements.
A shareholders' meeting in 1999 had approved the name change, Minsheng said. Officials were unaware of that approval, which was not registered with regulators.
The lender made the statement after former director Qiu Yingxin claimed his signature on the May 2000 document must have been forged as he was in police custody at the time.
Meanwhile, the bank said net profit jumped 59.57 per cent to 1.39 billion yuan last year as turnover soared 66.86 per cent to 12.03 billion yuan.
Earnings per share rose to 38 fen from 34 fen. The bank will pay a pre-tax dividend of 12 fen per share, against six fen a year earlier.
The company attributed the profit to rapid expansion in its core lending business. It planned a two-for-10 bonus share issue based on last year's net earnings and a three-for-20 bonus share issue on capital reserves.
The bank is expected to file an application to list in the next few months.
