Global banking giant HSBC will take a 15% stake in the Bank of Communications, China' s fifth largest bank, a Beijing-backed newspaper reported yesterday.
But there are no further details on the deal, including its value.
A spokesman for Shanghai-based Bank of Communications had no comment on the report, and an HSBC spokesman in Hong Kong also declined to comment.
HSBC has been named frequently as a potential investor in different Chinese banks since it took an 8% stake in the Bank of Shanghai in late 2001, becoming the first foreign commercial bank to invest in a domestic lender. It also bought a 10% interest in Ping An Insurance Co last year.
(Edited by china.org.cn January 15, 2003)
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