Central Huijin Investment Ltd, the shareholder of China's biggest State-owned banks, said the lenders will lower their dividend payouts to shore up capital, Bloomberg reported. 

Industrial & Commercial Bank of China Ltd (ICBC), China Construction Bank Corp (CCB) and Bank of China Ltd (BOC) will see dividends cut by 5 percentage points to 35 percent of 2011 profit, Central Huijin said in a statement on its website. The ratio for Agricultural Bank of China Ltd (ABC) will be unchanged at 35 percent, according to the statement.

The above-mentioned four banks are China's biggest lenders. Central Huijin is a unit of China Investment Corp, which operates the nation's sovereign wealth fund that totaled $409.6 billion at the end of 2010.

The 21st Century Business Herald first reported the news on Feb 2. The reduction may add a combined 20 billion yuan ($3.17 billion) to the capital of ICBC and CCB, according to the newspaper.

Central Huijin, set up to hold the government's stakes in the lenders, owned 35.43 percent of ICBC and 67.6 percent of BOC, according to statements from the two banks on Jan 5. Central Huijin owns 44.22 percent of ABC, according to data compiled by Bloomberg, and 57 percent of CCB, according to that lender’s third-quarter report.