Feb. 1, 2007 (China Knowledge) – Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC)<1398><601398>, the Mainland's largest lender, plans to sell the retail securities and futures divisions of ICEA Finance Holdings to its Hong Kong banking unit, ICBC (Asia) <349>.

ICBC’s move to dissolve its Hong Kong brokerage venture is to distance itself from a scandal that led to the collapse of Euro-Asia Agricultural (Holdings), sources told the South China Morning Post. The price for the sale has yet to be set.

ICBC will probably take over the venture's investment banking division, ICEA Capital. The Mainland lender plans to apply for a new investment banking licence and fold ICEA Capital into the new unit under another brand.

ICEA was set up in 1998 with the aim of facilitating mainland companies’ IPO. It is 75% owned by ICBC and 25% by Bank of East Asia.

The venture got into trouble for sponsoring the share sale of Shenyang-based orchid grower Euro-Asia.

Euro-Asia allegedly inflated its revenue by 20 times in the four years leading up to its listing in Hong Kong in July 2001. It went into liquidation a year later and its shares were delisted in May 2005. Former chairman Yang Bin is serving an 18-year sentence for fraud and bribery.