China Construction Bank Corp will embrace promising opportunities in the commodities market and bond and stock financing services, chairman Guo Shuqing said.

CCB, the world's second-largest lender by market capitalisation, would "speed up reform" by reducing its reliance on loans and move into other financial services, Guo said.

"We are not very ambitious in expanding overseas while the domestic financial market offers huge growth potential," he said.

His comments came after the bank last week reported first-quarter results that showed net income rose 34 percent from a year ago to 47.2 billion yuan (HK$56.4 billion).

Net interest income rose 25 percent to 71.6 billion yuan while net fee and commissions surged 37 percent to 23.2 billion yuan.

Guo said the results were achieved on the back of robust economic growth, rising interest rate spreads and improved pricing power after the central government cut lending targets this year

"However, the 30 per cent or so profit growth would not be sustainable in the long run," he said. "Loans' share of total income has been declining. Large companies tend to use direct financing more often."

To cope with the change, the bank is changing its focus to providing investment banking services to these clients, according to Guo.

The lender's consultancy fee income from mergers and acquisitions, debt restructuring, share listing and other financing-related businesses reached 2.62 billion yuan last year, up 154 per cent from 2009.

As regulators tighten their grip on loans to cool inflation, the central government has simplified the process for companies to sell bonds as a way to address their capital needs.

Guo said the bank also had a role to play in the promising commodity futures market.

"China is the biggest consumer of commodities, yet [trade volume in] our futures market only accounts for about 10 per cent in the world," he said. "We should quicken the pace to develop the market."

Commercial banks have been actively seeking approval from regulators to tap into the futures trade margin custodian and settlement businesses, as well as allow them to hedge and provide brokerage and market-making services.

CCB was considering participating in the futures market, hedging its exposure to borrowers whose businesses bore the risk of commodity price fluctuations or advising their clients on hedging, said Mao Yumin, a controller of investment and wealth management, at a forum last year.

The bank would like to "grasp the golden chances" brought by Shanghai's growth as an international financial hub, the gradual liberalisation of interest and exchange rates and the yuan's greater convertibility under capital accounts, Guo said.

附譯文：建行：拓展新的業務增長點

中國建設銀行董事長郭樹清日前表示，建設銀行將加速改革，減少對信貸的依賴，把握機遇發展商品市場、債券市場和證券市場的金融服務。“目前國內金融市場增長潛力巨大，建行海外發展計劃有限，沒有雄心勃勃。”郭樹清説道。

建設銀行目前是全球市值第二大銀行。上周，該行公佈了一季度業績，凈利潤同比增長34%至472億元人民幣。實現利息凈收入716億元人民幣，較上年同期增長25%；手續費及佣金凈收入增長37%至232億元人民幣。

郭樹清談到，建行能保持高速發展的主要原因有：國民經濟增長速度較快，利差進一步擴大，同時今年信貸規模縮小後，銀行的議價能力有所提升。“當然30%左右的高速增幅長遠看來是不可持續的。”

當監管機構加大對信貸資源的管控以應對通脹之時，政府簡化了公司發債的審批流程，以滿足融資需求。郭樹清説：“大型企業更傾向於直接融資，貸款在總收益中的佔比也在不斷下降。”考慮到這些因素，建行將很願意為大客戶提供投資銀行業務。據了解，建行去年在並購重組、債務重組、上市及再融資顧問等新型財務顧問方面的收入達26.20億元，同比增幅為154%。

郭樹清還表示，商品期貨市場發展前景好，建行將加大在這一領域的發展。“中國最大的大宗商品消費國，然而期貨市場（交易量）很小，僅佔全球的10%左右。我們應該加快發展期貨市場。”

如今商業銀行競相爭取監管機構批准，試圖開展期貨交易保證金託管和結算業務，同時也希望開展對衝業務，提供經紀人和做市商服務。

去年，建行投資和財富管理總監毛裕民在參加一次論壇時表示，建行正在考慮開展期貨市場業務，希望幫助企業客戶規避大宗商品價格波動風險，同時保障建行自身信貸資産安全。

目前，中國金融市場體系正在加速發展。上海有望成為新的國際金融中心，利率匯率逐漸市場化，人民幣在資本項下的可兌換得到推進。郭樹清説：“建行將會牢牢把握這一黃金時期”，加速發展，深化改革。