China's Industrial Bank to issue up 50 bln yuan bonds

SHANGHAI, March 17 (Reuters) - China's Industrial Bank (601166.SS), a medium-sized bank based in Fujian Province, said on Tuesday it plans to issue up to 50 billion yuan ($7.31 billion) worth of financial bonds, with a maturity of no more than 10 years.

The bond sale would be used in "highly qualified" asset projects, the bank said in a statement published in the official China Securities Journal. The bank's senior management will manage and implement the details of the bond sales, it added.

The bond sales plan has obtained approval from the bank's board, and is pending approval from shareholders, the bank said.

The bank, in which Hang Seng Bank (0011.HK) holds a stake, also said it had agreed to offer the Hong Kong lender an internal credit line of 4 billion yuan with a valid period of one year.

The bank, which was scheduled to post its 2008 fiscal result on Tuesday, said in a separate statement that it had not finished the report due to further checks regarding senior management salaries.

It said it had applied to the Shanghai Stock Exchange to postpone the 2008 earnings release to April 28. ($1=6.838 Yuan) (Reporting by Alfred Cang; Editing by Ken Wills)