Singapore's GIC increases stake in China's CICC

The Government of Singapore Investment Corporation (GIC) said it has more than doubled its stake in Beijing-based China International Capital Corporation ( CICC).

The GIC increased its holding in the leading Chinese investment bank to more than 16.35 percent from 7.35 percent after it bought up part of the shares held by Morgan Stanley the sixth largest U.S. bank by assets, a spokeswoman said.

This makes GIC the second largest shareholder in CICC, after China's state investment firm Central Huijin Investment, local TV broadcaster Channel NewsAsia reported on Friday.

Apart from GIC, global asset manager Kohlberg Kravis and Roberts, private investment firm TPG and insurance group Great Eastern Life also bought Morgan Stanley's 34.3 percent stake in CICC.

Morgan Stanley will record a pre-tax gain of about 700 million U.S. dollars by selling its stake. Terms of the deal were not disclosed, but a person familiar with the situation said Morgan Stanley's stake was worth about 1 billion U.S. dollars.

The deal marks the end of Morgan Stanley's three-year bid to offload its interest in CICC, which it helped founded in 1995. CICC is the top investment banking revenue earner among Chinese peers so far this year.
(Source:xinhua)