HONG KONG, June 12 (Reuters) - Chinese bank stocks jumped on Friday with China Construction Bank soaring 5.7 percent after data showed an increase in loan growth in May.
The country's third-largest bank, CCB was also reported as being interested in taking equity stakes in domestic insurer Happy Life Insurance Co and China Cinda Asset Management Corp.
Mainland lenders issued 664.5 billion yuan ($97.3 billion) in new yuan loans in May, up from the 592 billion yuan in April.
Yuan lending in the first five months totalled 5.84 trillion yuan, topping what the government had said was its minimum target of 5 trillion yuan for all of 2009 to support economic growth.
"Bank shares have lagged behind the rally in the last month. With more economic data coming out, investors are more reassured about a domestic-led recovery in China," said CIMB-GK banking analyst Alexander Lee.
By 0415 GMT top lender ICBC was up 2.9 percent at HK$5.25, while China Construction Bank (CCB) had advanced 4 percent to HK$5.68. Both stocks moved in large volumes, making up 13 percent of total turnover on the exchange in the morning session.
(Reporting by Parvathy Ullatil; Editing by Chris Lewis)