People's Bank of China picks up stake in ICICI Bank via QIP issue

After picking up a stake in housing finance major HDFC, the Chinese central bank People’s Bank of China has acquired a very small stake in ICICI Bank through the recently closed Rs 15,000 crore share sale by the country’s second largest private sector lender.

The People’s Bank of China was among 357 institutional investors which incl­uded domestic mutual funds, insurance firms and global institutions that subscribed to the issue, sources said.

According to sources, the Chinese central bank has picked up shares worth Rs 15 crore in Rs 15,000 crore qualified institutional placement (QIP) issue. At current market capitalisation, the stake of People’s Bank of China in ICICI Bank is about 0.0065 per cent. The ICICI Bank spokesperson was not available for comment immediately.