Editorial Summary

Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) (601398.SH; 1398.HK) shareholders approved a proposal on Thursday for the bank to acquire a 20 percent stake in Standard Bank Group Ltd, the largest bank in Africa by assets, for US$5.5 billion, reports China Securities Journal. ICBC and Stantard Bank will hand in their proposal to securities regulation commissions around December 18 and expect the deal to be completed in February 2008, said the report. ICBC shares fell 1.36 percent to close at 7.99 Yuan on the Shanghai Stock Exchange on Friday.

Also on Friday, China Pacific Insurance (Group) Co., Ltd (CPIC) began its retail allotment for 650 million A-shares, reports p5w.net. The company will also allot 350 million shares to institutional investors. According to a previous Shanghai Securities News report, CPIC will set its IPO price on December 18 and expects to start trading on the Shanghai Stock Exchange on December 25.