Goldman Sachs (GS.NYSE) is free to sell shares in Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (601398.SH, 1398.HKG) after the lock-up period has expired, though Goldman has said it would like to keep some of its sizeable stake in the bank, Reuters reported, quoting ICBC president Yang Kaisheng. Media reports this week suggested that Goldman Sachs had contacted asset managers such as BlackRock (BLK.NYSE) and JP Morgan Asset Management (part of JP Morgan Chase; JPM.NYSE) to gauge interest in about US$1 billion worth of ICBC shares. The Chinese bank’s stock price in Hong Kong fell 3.8% on the news. “To my understanding, Goldman has always felt that ICBC is a worthy investment,” said Yang. Other foreign banks, such as Bank of America (BAC.NYSE, BAC.LSE, BAC.BMV 8648.TSE), RBS (RBS.NYSE, RBS.LSE) and UBS (UBS.NYSE UBSN.SIX) have also cut their holdings in Chinese banks in recent years to repatriate capital to their home markets.
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