Agricultural Bank of China will relaunch as a stock-holding company before the Lunar New Year on January 26, bringing it a step closer to an eventual stock market listing, state media said Wednesday.

The lender has finished hiving off its bad loans, the China Business News reported, citing an unnamed source. The bank reported 818 billion yuan (119 billion dollars) in non-performing loans at the end of 2007.

The bank, the weakest of China's four major state-owned commercial banks, received a 19-billion-dollar government cash injection in November as part of its preparations for an eventual stock listing.

The introduction of shareholders demanding a return for their investment would force the bank to start operating for profits -- a break from its role so far of supporting government policies, observers say.