Allianz, Amex retain ICBC stake

Allianz SE and American Express Co plan to keep their Industrial & Commercial Bank of China Ltd stakes, which have a combined value of about $3.1 billion, past a lockup on the holdings that expired yesterday.

Allianz and American Express have no immediate plans to sell, the companies and Beijing-based ICBC said in statements. Allianz has 3.22 billion Hong Kong-traded ICBC shares, worth HK$19.9 billion, while American Express owns 638 million shares with a value of HK$3.95 billion.

The agreement "is an indication that key shareholders are optimistic about ICBC's business and growth potential and will lend some support to its shares", said Victor Wang, an analyst at UBS AG in Hong Kong who rates ICBC a "buy".