Standard Bank has Chinese suitor: reports
October 25, 2007
Beijing - China's biggest bank, state-owned Industrial & Commercial Bank of China Ltd., plans to buy a stake in South Africa's biggest lender for $5.5 billion (R36.3 billion), news reports said Thursday.
The reports come as ICBC plans a massive expansion abroad.
The bank is bidding for a stake in Standard Bank Group, the Financial Times newspaper and Dow Jones Newswires reported, citing unidentified sources.
The Financial Times said ICBC would pay $5.5 billion for a 20 percent stake in Standard Bank.
An ICBC spokesman in Beijing who would give only his surname, Xie, refused to confirm the reports.
"We will release related information at the appropriate time," Xie said.
ICBC said last week it wants to open a US branch and also plans to expand into Russia, Australia and the Middle East.
The bank is flush with cash to finance its expansion after raising a record-setting $21.9 billion in an initial public stock offering in October 2006. - Sapa-AP
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