BOC bets on rail link from mines to ports

BEIJING - Betting on the nation's ongoing railway construction boom, Bank of China (BOC) said it planned to invest 7.5 billion yuan ($1.10 billion) in the operator of a 1,260-kilometer railway link between northern China's major coal mines and port cities.

The nation's third-largest lender by market value plans to purchase a 14.5 percent stake in the yet to be established railway company, with registered capital of 51.9 billion yuan, it said in a filing to the Shanghai stock exchange over the weekend.

The investment will be made using foreign currency through its Hong Kong-based investment arm - Bank of China Group Investment Ltd - and is still pending regulatory approval from regulators, including the Ministry of Commence, it said in the filing.