Minsheng approved to take 25.56% stake in local trust firm

China Minsheng Banking Corp<600016>, the country's first joint-stock commercial bank, has won the approval from China Banking Regulatory Commission to acquire 25.56% stake in Shaanxi International Trust & Investment Corp<000563>, said the latter in a filing to Shenzhen Stock Exchange.

Minsheng Bank, the country's seventh largest lender by market value, will buy 143 million A shares at RMB 16.38 apiece, totaling RMB 2.34 billion. After the acquisition, Minsheng will be the second largest shareholder of the trust firm, following Shaanxi Provincial Expressway Construction Group.

The bank said it would have the same stake as owned by the state-owned construction firm, after the latter cut its stake.

It is the latest move for Minsheng to diversify its business into other non-traditional banking services. It has acquired 9.9% stakes in the U.S-based UCBH Holdings, the largest lender offering services to Chinese in the U.S., in a bid to expand its business into securities, trust products and insurance and wealth management.

Earlier last month, the lender posted its net profit 2007 up 68.6% year-on-year to RMB 6.3 billion, while the bank's assets has grown 26.9% year-on-year to RMB 919.8 billion.