HSBC stepping up drive into China

12 April 2012

BANKING group HSBC Holdings is planning to take a stake in one of China's largest insurers, its latest move to bolster business in that country's potentially massive financial sector.

The group confirmed it was in talks to buy a minority holding in Ping An Insurance, in which investment bankers Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley already share a 15% stake.

HSBC is reported to be interested in a 10% share. Ping An, currently unlisted, has previously indicated it is interested in floating on the Hong Kong stock market. Ping An's profits in 2001 were reported to be £223m.

In a pioneering move last December HSBC took an 8% holding in the Bank of Shanghai. The latest deal would represent another stage in the battle for entry into China's insurance market, which has to be opened up to outside competition under World Trade Organisation rules.

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