PING AN PLANS CROSS-HOLDING WITH HSBC, CLAIMS REPORT

Chinese insurer Ping An is reportedly planning to take a 5% stake in UK-listed global financial services operation HSBC. The stake would cost Ping An some 60bn yuan ($8.3bn). If the deal went ahead, Ping An and HSBC would form a global partnership. HSBC has long had a significant minority stake in Ping An and in November 2005 it said that it planned a Chinese joint venture.