(Yicai) Sept. 3 -- China's six large state-owned lenders plan to distribute more than CNY205 billion (USD28.8 billion) worth of dividends for the first half of this year.

Agricultural Bank of China, Bank of China, Bank of Communications, China Construction Bank, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, and Postal Savings Bank of China have announced plans to distribute interim dividends of CNY40.7 billion (USD5.7 billion), CNY35.6 billion, CNY13.5 billion, CNY49.3 billion, CNY51.5 billion, and CNY14.6 billion, respectively.

The boards of directors of the six lenders have already greenlit the dividend schemes, which are now pending approval by their general meetings of shareholders.

Wu Qing, the chairman of the China Securities Regulatory Commission, said in March during his first press conference since taking office a month earlier that the watchdog would encourage qualified firms to pay dividends multiple times a year.

Later that month, the CSRC released four policy documents setting out 18 measures, which also included tightened supervision for listed companies that have not paid dividends for many years or have disbursed relatively low amounts. These firms were encouraged to pay out multiple times a year to boost investors' sense of gain.

More than 600 Chinese mainland-listed companies plan to cash out interim dividends worth more than CNY500 billion, a new record high, according to data from Wind Information. Lenders were the main contributors.

In addition to large state-owned banks, also joint-stock banks and city and rural commercial banks unveiled interim dividend schemes. They include Bank of Nanjing, China Citic Bank, China Minsheng Bank, Hua Xia Bank, Ping An Bank, and Shanghai Rural Commercial Bank. The latter has the highest dividend payout ratio of over 33 percent.

Bank stocks have been among the most popular in the Chinese mainland capital market for their security against an overall downward trend. However, they are expected to encounter fluctuations with more apparent structural diversification in the future.

Editor: Futura Costaglione