China Construction Bank (CCB) Limited was inaugurated here Tuesday as a milestone in the development of the country's biggest property lender.

The former wholly State-owned bank has been transformed into a joint-stock commercial bank controlled by the state. Its five stock-holders are Central Huijin Investment Co., Ltd., China Jianyin Investment Co., Ltd., State Grid Corporation, Shanghai Baosteel Group Company, and China Yangtze Power Co., Ltd..

The new CCB has an aggregate capital of 194.23 billion yuan (US$23.4 billion), with a total of 194.23 billion shares.

A spokesman of the bank said that CCB would be devoted to commercial banking business and built into a modern bank with adequate capital, stringent internal control, safe operation, sound service and international competitiveness in about three years.

Zhang Enzhao, the former CCB president, became the new bank's chairman of the board of directors, while Chang Zhenming, a former senior executive of the China International Trust and Investment Corp. (CITIC), was appointed president of China Construction Bank Limited.