Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) (601398.SH, 1398.HK) may be acquiring the Argentinian unit of South Africa's Standard Bank for $800 million, reports China Business News, citing local Argentinian media reports.  

Both ICBC and Standard Bank declined to comment on the issue.

Standard Bank, based in Johannesburg, is the largest bank in Africa. ICBC had purchased a 20 percent stake in Standard Bank in 2008, becoming its largest single shareholder.

Standard Bank currently owns a 75 percent stake in its Argentinian unit, while the remaining 25 percent is held by the local Werthein and Sielecki families.

ICBC had completed the acquisition of Thailand's ACL Bank in March, and had renamed the bank ICBC Thailand.

ICBC had completed the establishment and acquisition of 12 overseas branches in 2010. Through the end of 2010, ICBC had 203 overseas branches, including 21 branches and sub-branches, and 181 subsidiaries and sub-subsidiaries.

In addition, ICBC opened five branches in Paris, Armstrong, Brussels, Milan, and Madrid in January this year.

Shares of ICBC fell 1.91 percent to trade at HK$5.66 at 10:30 today.

Source:capitalvue