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China Minsheng Banking Corp. (SHA: 600016), China's leading private lender, said it had won regulatory approval to issue US$173 million in subordinated bonds through a private placement to boost capital adequacy.

The approved amount was less than the US$198 million initially planned, the Beijing-based lender said in a statement published in the Securities Times, giving no reasons for the cut.

The plan must still be submitted to the central bank for final approval. Minsheng bank, which has delayed a Hong Kong initial public offering reported to be worth US$880 million, has said its capital adequacy ratio stood at 8.05 percent at the end of June - a whisker above the 8 percent nationwide requirement.

But the bank's outstanding loans continued to climb at the end of September to 355.2 billion yuan (US$43.8 billion), up 23 percent from the end of 2004, despite the government's efforts to curb credit to sectors such as steel and real estate.

Analysts have been concerned about the bank's relatively low capital adequacy ratio, one reason that the lender - of which Singaporean government investment arm Temasek Holdings owns nearly 5 percent - is planning to list overseas to boost its capital.

Last month Minsheng bank, the second-largest Shanghai-listed lender, said it also planned to sell US$3.7 billion of financial bonds to help enhance the lender's liquidity in the face of a fast-expanding loans portfolio.