Bank of China shares fall on $6 bln fund raising plan

HONG KONG Jan 25 (Reuters) - Hong Kong-listed shares of Bank of China (3988.HK) are set to open 1.03 percent lower on Monday, after China's largest foreign exchange lender announced plans to issue up to $5.86 billion worth of convertible bonds.

Bank of China shares were set to open at HK$3.85, versus Friday's close of HK$3.89. Its Shanghai-listed shares (601988.SS) were up about 2 percent in early trade.

Late on Friday, the bank announced it would issue as much as 40 billion yuan worth of six-year convertible bonds to shore up its capital base and maintain its lending capacity. [ID:nTOE60L096].

Analysts said the move was widely expected, and removes a major overhang from Bank of China, which has previously said it would need to raise money to shore up its capital base.

Shares of China's largest lender, ICBC (1398.HK)(601398.SS) were down about 0.2 percent in both Hong Kong and Shanghai. (Reporting by Doug Young; Editing by Jacqueline Wong)