HSBC, Ping An share sale approved

China’s insurance regulator approved British bank HSBC’s (HBC.NYSE, HSBA.LON, 0005.HKG) US$9.4 billion sale of its 15.6% holding of Chinese insurance firm Ping An (2310.HKG, 601318.SH) to a Thai group, Financial Times reported. HSBC will record a US$3 billion profit on the sale. Thai retailer, telecoms and agribusiness conglomerate Charoen Pokphand Group has already earned a theoretical US$1.9 billion on the deal, as Ping An’s shares have increased a fifth above the HK$59 that the group agreed to pay. Previous reports speculated that the China Insurance Regulatory Commission would reject the deal due to an investigation into one Hong Kong financier, Xiao Jianhua.