Allianz, American Express trim stakes in ICBC

Published: 29 Apr 2009 18:01:30 PST

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Apr. 30, 2009 (China Knowledge) - Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC)<601398><1398>, the world's largest lender by market value, announced yesterday that Allianz Group and American Express, have disposed of part of their shares in the Chinese lender through private placement, without specifying the buyers of the shares.

Allianz and American Express sold 3.22 billion and 638.06 million H shares, respectively.

In late March, the Chinese lender's two foreign strategic investors promised that they would cooperate with ICBC and seek all possible means to maximize value and minimze market impact if they chose to sell down their stakes, giving priority to private placement.