SHENZHEN Development Bank Co said yesterday it has canceled a plan to sell a seven percent stake to General Electric Co.
The company, which announced the unanimous decision by its board in a statement to the Shenzhen Stock Exchange, said it halted the stake sale due to "relevant regulations," suggesting the deal failed to win approval from the securities regulator.
GE's lending unit, GE Consumer Finance, agreed in 2005 to cooperate with Shenzhen Development Bank in developing its consumer credit business in China.
The agreement called for GE Consumer Finance to acquire newly issued shares of Shenzhen valued at US$100 million.
The cancellation of the sale did not change the two lenders' cooperation on consumer finance.
Shenzhen Development is controlled by buyout firm TPG Newbridge Capital, which holds a 16.68 percent stake in the bank based in the southern city of Shenzhen, Guangdong Province, just across the border from Hong Kong.
The bank reported this week that its third quarter net profit surged 65 percent over the same period of 2006, to 750 million yuan (US$100 million), helped by growing revenue from loans and services.