China's business press carried the following stories Wednesday. China.org.cn has not checked the stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.

Guangzhou Auto to be listed on Hong Kong exchange in Q2 – Shanghai Securities News

Guangzhou Automobile Group Corp., a Chinese partner of Honda and Toyota, is expected to secure an "overall listing" in Hong Kong in the second quarter, Shanghai Securities News reported Wednesday.

Guangzhou Auto began seeking a public listing in Hong Kong last year in an effort to pave the way for further strategic development. The automaker plans to conduct a backdoor listing using its subsidiary Denway Motors, the Chinese partner of Honda.

The Guangzhou-based automaker had its listing plan reviewed by the Hong Kong stock exchange on April 29. "The hearing is still ongoing, and our overall listing plan is proceeding on schedule," said Zeng Qinghon, general manager of Guangzhou Auto and vice chairman of Denway's board.

Guangzhou Auto currently holds 37.9 percent of Denway. Now that Honda and Toyota have agreed on the listing plan, the only obstacle is Denway's price offer.

ICBC selects investment banks for H shares – China Business News

The Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, the world's largest bank by market value, has started to select investment banks to handle its new H share sales, China Business News reported citing people close to the matter.

Recent media reports said ICBC has hired four banks to be underwriters for its H share offering, which plans to raise US$7 billion to US$10 billion. The four banks are BNP Paribas, BOC International, UBS AG and ICBC's own investment banking arm.

BOC International has been confirmed as one of the underwriters but has refused to comment.

ICBC announced March 25 that it plans to sell up to 25 billion yuan of A share convertible bonds and new H shares of up to 20 percent of its existing H shares.

By the end of March, ICBC's core capital-adequacy ratio stood at 9.58 percent, higher than the level required by China's banking regulator.

Central bank advisor: Conditions ripe for deposit interest rate hike – Securities Daily

Conditions are ripe for China to raise its deposit interest rate, the country's central bank advisor Li Daokui said Tuesday.

But the lending interest rate should remain stable, he said.

Li, who is a member of the monetary policy committee of the People's Bank of China and professor at Tsinghua University, also predicted that the consumer price index in the next few months will stay at a relatively high level. The current round of CPI hikes is mainly caused by rising labor cost and agricultural product prices, he said.

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