Another Chinese bank is considering investing in South Africa. From IC Publications:
A major, but unidentified Chinese bank is in talks to buy a stake in South Africa’s second-largest lender First National Bank, the state-controlled China Daily newspaper reported Friday.
If carried out, the transaction will follow in the footsteps of Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, the nation’s top lender, which recently agreed to buy a 20 percent stake in South Africa’s Standard Bank.
Chinese banks and other enterprises have been more aggressive buyers of overseas assets in recent years, helped partly by a strengthening of the Chinese currency since it was de-pegged from the US dollar in mid-2005.
For more information on China’s recent investments in Africa, see the China Daily article on Africa-China trade relations and an All Africa article on China’s interest in African mining investments.
