Tencent to buy 155% stake in Leju

    SHENZHEN-BASED Internet giant Tencent Holdings Ltd. has agreed to acquire a 15 percent stake in Leju Holdings Ltd. for US$180 million from E-House (China) Holdings Ltd., giving the firm ownership in a provider of online real estate services.

    The transaction, expected to close at the end of the month, comes amid a handful of deals by Tencent and its rivals, including online shopping powerhouse Alibaba Group Holding Ltd., to gain an upper hand in the burgeoning Chinese mobile consumer market.

    China Railway gets nod to issue bonds

    CHINA Railway Corp., the nation’s biggest corporate bond issuer, has won approval to issue as much as 150 billion yuan (US$24.1 billion) of debt this year, according to sources familiar with the matter.

    The National Development and Reform Commission, which regulates securities issued by State-owned enterprises, approved the quota, which matches last year’s, said the sources Friday. The cap doesn’t include medium-term notes or commercial paper, which are regulated by the People’s Bank of China, the central bank, the sources said.

    ICBC, CCB stop distributing trust products

    INDUSTRIAL & Commercial Bank of China Ltd. (ICBC), the nation’s largest lender by assets, is among banks that have stopped distributing trust products as the risk of defaults mount, the Securities Daily reported Friday.

    China Construction Bank Corp. (CCB) also ceased marketing the high-yield investment products that have been used to raise funds for companies that don’t have access to cheaper financing such as bank loans, the newspaper reported, citing unidentified employees of the banks.

    China Rapid Finance explores U.S. IPO

    CHINA Rapid Finance (CRF), a peer-to-peer lender in China, is exploring a potential U.S. initial public offering (IPO), according to sources familiar with the matter.

    CRF, based in Shanghai, is talking to investment banks about the possible IPO, the sources said. They cautioned that the exploration of whether to go public is still in the preliminary stages, and no decisions have been made about timing or how big any offering would be. Peer-to-peer lending is funded by individual investors who pick and choose who they want to lend to, and are seen as an alternative to credit cards and bank loans.