Ping An Insurance has approached Everbright Bank about taking a stake in the medium-sized lender, Reuters reported, citing industry and regulatory sources. Ping An's interest, which is still at an early stage, is expected to complicate attempts by Britain's Standard Chartered to buy a 20% stake in the undercapitalised lender. China's second-biggest life insurer is aiming to remodel itself as a financial services firm, hoping for another revenue stream as insurance premium growth slows. Its interest in Everbright comes as the insurer tries to win a stake in struggling Guangdong Development Bank, for which Citigroup and French lender Societe Generale are also competing. Chinese regulators said last week that domestic insurance companies were now allowed to invest in the country's banking sector and Ping An had been approved to bid for a stake in small-sized Shenzhen Commercial Bank.
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