Citigroup Confirms Sale Of Its Stake In China Guangfa Bank

Citigroup Inc C announced on Monday it has reached an agreement to sell its 20 percent stake in China Guangfa Bank to China Life Insurance Company.

The financial terms were not disclosed and the company said it is not material to its earnings. Reuters reported that the price tag on the deal was around 19.7 billion yuan, or $3 billion.

Citigroup bought the stake in the Chinese regional lender in 2006 for around $610 million.

Francisco Aristeguieta, CEO of Citi Asia Pacific said, "While we are proud of our decade-long partnership with China Guangfa Bank, this transaction is consistent with the simplification of Citi and allows us to focus our resources in China on growing our core franchise further. Citi has operated in China for more than a century and it remains one of our highest priority markets around the world. We employ more than 8,000 people in China and work closely with a targeted set of clients across both consumer and institutional banking."

Citigroup has been active in divesting or selling some of its worldwide operations. The bank said on February 19 it plans on selling its consumer businesses in Brazil, Argentina and Colombia.

Shares of Citi were trading at $39.49 ahead of Monday's opening bell.