After China’s central bank invested in HDFC Ltd earlier this year, an investment that had created a massive row in the market, the People’s Bank of China has now made an investment in the ICICI Bank.
The People’s Bank of China has emerged as one of the prime investors in ICICI Bank’s ₹15,000 crore capital raising exercise. The bank signed a cheque of ₹15 crore in the private bank under the qualified institutional placement.
The People’s Bank of China was amongst the 357 institutional investors which included domestic mutual funds, insurance companies and global institutions that subscribed to the issue.
Experts claim that the current investment by the Chinese bank in ICICI Bank does not pose any serious threat as banking is a ‘highly regulated’ business.
This investment in the banking sector comes at a time when the People’s Bank of China is increasing its stake in the HDFC Ltd to over 1 per cent in March this year.
The current investment comes soon after the violent clash in Ladakh’s Galwan Valley which led to the death of 20 Indian Army personnel. The border situation between India and China has remained tensed ever since.
Earlier, India announced a ban on 59 Chinese apps including TikTok , SHAREit, WeChat. Market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) is also scanning portfolio investments from China as well as from investors of Chinese origin.
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