The Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) has inked a strategic partnership deal with South Africa¡¦s Standard Bank Group, say lawyers close to the deal, which includes ICBC¡¦s acquisition of 20% of Standard Bank.

The deal, valued at R36.7 billion (US$5.5 billion), was announced on October 25 2007 and is expected to help both banks take advantage of trade and investment flows between China and Africa.

ICBC is China¡¦s largest domestic commercial bank with total assets of Rmb8.3 trillion (US$1.1 trillion) and the world¡¦s largest bank by market value with a market capitalisation of Rmb2.53 trillion (US$319 billion). Standard Bank is the largest banking group in South Africa with total assets of R1.098 billion (US$156 billion).

¡§ICBC¡¦s acquisition of a strategic stake in Standard Bank is the first significant Chinese investment into a South African financial institution,¡¨ says Cecila Lam, a partner at Linkaters¡¦, which represented ICBC in the deal. ¡§It is a complex cross-border transaction, involving an interconditional scheme of arrangement and subscription. It is the largest banking deal in South Africa since Barclays¡¦ acquisition of Absa.¡¨

Other legal advisers on the deal included King & Wood, which advised ICBC on Chinese law, and Webber Wentzel Bowen, which advised ICBC on South African law. South African law firm Bowman Gilfillan advised Standard Bank.