Buenos Aires - Standard Bank Group
[JSE:SBK], Africa's largest lender by
assets, will sell a majority stake in its Argentine operation to the
Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, Argentina newspapers reported
on Friday.
Clarin newspaper said ICBC would buy 75% of shares in
Standard Bank's Argentine unit for around $700m, while financial daily
El Cronista said it would purchase an 80% stake worth between $700m and
$800m.
Both publications cited unnamed sources close to the deal.
A Standard Bank spokesperson in South Africa said the bank did not
comment on speculation, and no one was immediately reachable at the
bank's offices in Buenos Aires.
Johannesburg-based Standard Bank has held assets in Argentina since its 2006 purchase of BankBoston.
ICBC,
one of the world's biggest banks by market value and a 20% minority
shareholder of Standard Bank, has an ambitious international expansion
strategy that includes Latin America.