Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) announced it will be selling its Hong-Kong listed shares of Industrial and Commercial Bank of China to Temasek Holdings. The sale will be worth $2.3 billion.This is the largest divestment ever for the world’s biggest bank with 3.55 billion shares being sold, about 4% of ICBC’s Hong Kong traded shares. This will add to Temasek’s growing portfolio of stakes in Chinese banks, having already owned part of China Construction Bank and Bank of China before buying the ICBC shares.Temasek will now have a 1.3 percent stake in the bank. Goldman Sachs has a history with ICBC, having bought a 4.9 percent stake in the bank before its initial public offering in 2006. Goldman paid $2.6 billion for that stake. The American bank now plans to continue to reduce its ownership in ICBC, now having about $3 billion in ICBC shares.
