A United States private equity fund intends to buy a strategic stake in Shenzhen Development Bank, the latest move by foreign investors to enter the mainland's financial sector.
Shenzhen Development Bank, one of only four domestic-listed banks, said it had obtained regulatory approval to sell a stake to Newbridge Capital, an offshoot of Texas Pacific Group.
'After approval by the relevant authorities, it is agreed that Newbridge Capital becomes the strategic investor of our bank,' the Shenzhen-listed commercial lender said in a statement yesterday.
Preparations for the deal were being carried out by the two parties, the regional bank said, but it gave no details on the size of the sale.
The transaction, if completed, will be the first time a foreign financial institution has bought a stake in a domestic-listed mainland bank.
In late December, HSBC and Hong Kong's Shanghai Commercial Bank became the first foreign commercial banks to invest in a mainland bank by buying minority stakes in unlisted Bank of Shanghai.
China is encouraging foreign investors to take stakes in small and medium-sized banks in an attempt to accelerate the development of the banking sector.
