China Merchants Bank said it plans to buy a 33.4% stake in Dutch financial group ING's China fund management joint venture.
China Merchants Bank will buy the stake from several domestic financial firms, including China Merchants Securities, China Power Finance, China Hua Neng Finance and Cosco Finance, it said in a statement.
The transaction, which has been approved by the China Securities Regulatory Commission, the country's top securities watchdog, still needs further regulatory approval, the company said.
Following the planned acquisition, China Merchants Securities would hold 33.3% stake in the fund joint venture, set up in the southern Chinese boomtown of Shenzhen in 2002. ING Asset Management would hold the remaining 33.3%.