HONG KONG, May 13 (Reuters) - Hang Seng Bank Ltd,a unit of HSBC Holdings, said it is selling a stake inChina's Industrial Bank Co Ltd worth up to 16.8billion yuan ($2.7 billion) to bolster its capital position andto fund expansion.
The sale of the up to 4.99 percent stake is the second chunkof Industrial Bank that the Hong Kong-based lender has put onthe market this year, after it raised about $2 billion inFebruary.
Hang Seng said in a statement late on Tuesday that it wouldretain 0.88 percent of the Chinese bank on completion of thedeal.
A sharp rise in Hong Kong shares has encouraged somefinancial investors to cash out their holdings, resulting in awave of block deals in Hong Kong over the past few weeks.
Hang Seng Bank, 62.14 percent-owned by HSBC, saidit would sell 950.7 million shares of the Shanghai-listed lenderat 17.68 yuan apiece, or a 5.96 percent discount to the previousclose.
Goldman Sachs Gao Hua Securities Co Ltd and UBS Securities Co Ltd are the joint placing agents, it added.
($1 = 6.2086 Chinese yuan renminbi) (Reporting by Donny Kwok and Denny Thomas; Editing by StephenCoates)
HSBC Holdings (HSBA)
