The stake will be purchased from China Railway Investment Corporation, the investment arm of the Ministry of Railways, which is the largest shareholder in BSRC with 56% of the shares.
"The Ministry of Railway has to find capital to fund the massive railway building boom currently underway in the country; this may be a major reason behind its decision to sell the stake to Bank of China," Mr Li Chao, an analyst with China Jianyin Investment Securities, told China Daily.