Guangdong Bank seeks foreign buyer

Guangdong Development Bank, southern China's biggest lender, has hired Deutsche Bank to help find a foreign buyer for a stake in the company before its US$700m IPO next year. The Guangzhou-based bank follows the footsteps of China Construction Bank which recently sold a 9% stake to Bank of America and other Chinese lenders looking to foreign institutions to boost competitiveness before China's financial markets fully opens by 2007. A potential buyer of a stake in Guangdong Development is Hong Kong-traded Ping An Insurance Co, China's second-largest insurer, state media reported.