SHAREHOLDERS in China Construction Bank Corp, the nation's second-largest, have approved a plan to sell as much as 40 billion yuan (US$5.8 billion) of subordinated bonds to raise capital.

The bank may issue 5 billion yuan of the debt in Hong Kong as part of the sale, the Beijing-based bank said in a statement dated last Friday. It didn't disclose interest rates for the bonds in the statement. In the event of bankruptcy, subordinated debt holders receive payment only after senior debt claims are paid in full. The bonds have maturity terms of at least 10 years, CCB said.