China Merchants Bank Co. , the country’s top Shanghai-listed lender, said that it had issued a record five million credit cards by April, giving it a third of the domestic market.

The lender, based in the southern boomtown of Shenzhen, said its current bad debt ratio for credit cards was well below 1 percent, versus an international average of 4 to 6 percent.

"Five million cards is just the beginning for us. We have met the profitability level for the business and are now keen to expand our market share," bank president Ma Weihua said in an emailed statement.

The bank, backed by ports-to-roads conglomerate China Merchants Group, doubled its card issuance in 2005, it said.

China Merchants said in March it planned to raise an estimated $2 billion through a Hong Kong stock listing and would give potential strategic investors a first crack at the new shares. ( Yahoo News )