Goldman Sells Part Of ICBC Stake

Goldman Sachs GS has sold part of its stake in Industrial & Commercial Bank of China (ICBC), the world's largest lender by assets, for $2.25 billion. The news sent ICBC's Hong Kong-listed shares to a four-month low. Goldman sold 3.04 billion shares, more than the originally planned 2.75 billion. Yesterday's sale was Goldman Sachs's second offering of shares in the Chinese bank after its initial ICBC investment in 2006, according to Bloomberg News. The stake Goldman Sachs sold yesterday fetched about four times what the New York-based firm paid for it, and followed a divestment of almost $2 billion in June 2009, Bloomberg reported. Other western banks that have pared their stakes in Chinese banks include Bank of America BAC, UBS UBS and Royal Bank of Scotland RBS. ICBC is the most profitable bank in the world.