CHINA'S banking regulator has cleared China Construction Bank's plan for an US$11 billion rights issue in Hong Kong and Shanghai, the bank said in a statement to the Hong Kong stock exchange yesterday.

CCB already has approval for the fundraising plan from shareholders, and the go-ahead from regulators was expected.

CCB is 12 percent owned by Bank of America and 6 percent owned by Singapore state investor Temasek. China's top banks are all trying to replenish capital after a lending boom last year to support government-backed economic stimulus efforts.