The Chinese mainland's second-largest life insurer offered 500 million US dollars for a 60 percent stake in Shenzhen City Commercial Bank, bidding against rivals Bank of East Asia (BEA) and Standard Chartered Bank.

The bid, still awaiting approval, is part of Ping An Insurance (Group) Company's efforts to strengthen its relatively weak financial services foothold, according to report by China Daily.

"We will not miss any opportunities to increase our value," Li Jinmiao, Ping An's assistant president of marketing department, told the newspaper.

"The industry watchdog hasn't given this plan the go-ahead," said Sun Jianyong, director of the Department of Capital Utilization Supervision under the China Insurance Regulatory Commission (CIRC).

Ping An, together with Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation (HSBC), took over Fujian Asia Bank in 2003 and renamed it Ping An Bank. This made Ping An a comprehensive financial giant with roots in insurance, trust, brokerage services and banking businesses.

Now Ping An is China's third financial holding group after CITIC Group and Everbright Group.

To strengthen its position in the financial sector that could tap various revenue streams, Ping An is striving to enhance its banking business, a comparatively weak arm.

According to Louis Cheung, chief operating officer of Ping An, banking services will become one of Ping An's key businesses in the future, and the group is "open to any other opportunities."

Insiders said that Ping An was also in discussion with Dongguan City Commercial Bank in South China's Guangdong Province and Yantai Hengfeng Bank in East China's Shandong Province.

Source: Xinhua