Industrial and Commercial Bank of China has frozen talks with two Arab state investors negotiating for a US$1 billion stake, amid growing concern in Beijing over foreign involvement in the country's financial sector, the Financial Times reported. The country's largest lender, which is considering a US$10 billion-plus overseas listing, wants to seal a US$3 billion deal to sell a 10% stake to a Goldman Sachs-led consortium before entering into further discussions with Abu Dhabi and Kuwait's state investment agencies. A dispute has emerged among Chinese authorities over whether foreign institutions bought stakes in the "big four" state banks too cheaply. The internal criticism prompted central bank governor Zhou Xiaochuan to defend the deals in an interview with Caijing magazine.