GE to buy into Shenzhen bank

US financial services and industrial giant General Electric is set to buy a 7% stake in Shenzhen Development Bank (SDB) and wants to eventually boost its level of ownership to the maximum allowed level of 25%, the Asia Wall Street Journal reported. According to the bank's most recent share price, the 7% stake would be worth around US$100 million. Southern China-based SDB is one of few banks in the country already effectively controlled by foreign investors and GE sees it as a useful vehicle to enter China's developing consumer finance market.