KIEV, March 21 - France's BNP Paribas, the biggest shareholder in Kharkiv-based UkrSibbank, is planning to keep its 51% stake in the bank's charter capital after the Ukrainian bank places additional shares for UAH 450 million.

"BNP Paribas will own 51% [after the additional placement], and the Ukrainian owner will have 49%," Jean-Francois Varlet, chairman of UkrSibbank's supervisory board, said at a Wednesday press conference in Kiev.