China's CICC chairman Jin Liqun to resign this year - sources

BEIJING (Reuters) - The chairman of struggling investment bank China International Capital Corp (CICC), Jin Liqun, plans to resign from his post this year, two sources with direct knowledge of the matter told Reuters.

The news follows the exit of Chief Executive Levin Zhu, the son of China's former Premier Zhu Rongji, the most senior of a number of high-profile exits this year at CICC.

"If there are no surprises, Jin Liqun will submit his resignation within the next two months," said one source.

The sources added that Jin plans to take up a position at Asia Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), a Beijing-led effort which analysts say is aimed at extending China's influence in the region.

The AIIB, which has a proposed registered capital of $50 billion (£31.44 billion), has so far attracted the interest of 21 countries and will mainly focus on infrastructure construction in Asia.

A public relations official at CICC declined to comment.

CICC had been the top Chinese investment bank for years as it led a number of high-profile listings of state-owned firms.

However, as big IPOs have dried up among the SOEs, the bank's profits have slipped and listed rivals CITIC Securities Co Ltd and Haitong Securities Co Ltd , firms with more capital and broader networks, have stolen a march by targeting smaller firms.

CICC was established in 1995 as a joint venture between China Construction Bank Corp and Morgan Stanley, though the U.S. investment bank sold its 34.3 percent stake in 2010 to KKR & Co (KKR.N), TPG Capital Management [TPG.UL], Singapore sovereign wealth fund GIC and The Great Eastern Life Assurance Co Ltd.

(Reporting by Xie Heng and Engen Tham in Shanghai; Editing by Kazunori Takada and Stephen Coates)