Money

ICBC to buy stake in AXA-Minmetals Assurance: Report

(Agencies)
Updated: 2010-10-28 17:04

Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC), the world's most valuable lender, will expand into the insurance business by buying a major stake in French group AXA's China life insurance venture, Reuters reported on Thursday, citing two sources familiar with the matter.

China's biggest banks are rushing into the country's $100 billion life insurance industry after a nearly two-decade ban, as they seek to leverage their vast networks to gain market share from dominant players such as China Life and Ping An.

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ICBC said to announce its investment in Shanghai-based AXA-Minmetals Assurance at a conference in Beijing at 3:50 pm, the sources told Reuters.

China barred banks from investing in insurers and brokerages in 1993 to ward off risks, but the ban was lifted last September as part of the government's revived efforts toward financial integration.

Bank of Communications (BoCom), China's fifth-biggest lender has bought control of a Shanghai-based insurer and aims to build it into a national giant.

Bank of Beijing has agreed to buy half of ING Capital Life, a 50-50 venture with ING, while Bank of China has got the regulator's nod to buy a 51 percent stake in Heng An Standard Life, partly owned by Britain's Standard Life Plc.

ICBC will also announce its third-quarter earnings on Friday, and is expected to complete its $6.6 billion rights issue by the end of this year.