The Bank of China says it has formally applied to its government owner for approval to sell a 10 per cent stake to Temasek, Singapore’s state investment agency, ahead of a planned overseas initial public offering next year.

Zhu Min, the BoC’s executive assistant president, said at a conference in Beijing on Wednesday “the whole thing” had been submitted to Central Huijin Investment, a holding company under the central bank that owns the lender’s shares.