German Allianz bids for Chinese bank

MUNICH, Germany, July 12 (UPI) -- German financial giant Allianz AG has teamed up with U.S. investment bank Goldman Sachs to acquire a stake in one of China's largest banks.

The Chinese communist regime plans to sell 10 percent of its Industrial and Commercial Bank of China to prepare the bank for a possible stock exchange listing, the German daily Sueddeutsche Zeitung reported Tuesday.

Apart from Allianz, Europe's leading insurance company, interest in the ICBC has been shown by American Express, Credit Suisse, and the Belgian-Dutch bank Fortis, the newspaper said.

According to Deutsche Bank Research, the ICBC has 400,000 employees and more than 100 million customers. It is the fourth-largest financial institution in China, the group said.

An Allianz spokeswoman refused to comment on the deal, the newspaper said.

The Hong Kong newspaper South China Morning Post had initially reported the European and U.S. interest in the ICBC.