AKIPRESS.COM - China CITIC Bank Corp. board has approved a deal for purchase of 60% stake in Kazakhstan’s Altyn Bank, Chinese media reported.

Altyn Bank is a subsidiary of Halyk Bank, Kazakhstan’s second largest lender by assets.

In a stock-exchange filing, CITIC Bank said it will make the acquisition through “public transactions” on the Kazakhstan Stock Exchange at a price determined at the time of purchase, Reuters reports.

Altyn Bank is a medium-sized lender with assets of about US$930 million, targeting both retail and corporate customers. Before Halyk bought it in 2014, it had been a unit of HSBC.

Chinese President Xi Jinping is currently visiting Kazakhstan, which neighbors China to the west and is a trade partner, including in Beijing’s “Belt and Road” plan to develop infrastructure deals around the region.