AUSTRALIA and New Zealand Banking Corp. said Monday Baoshan Iron & Steel Co. would buy part of its stake in Shanghai Rural Commercial Bank Co., rather than Shanghai Sino-Poland Enterprise Management Development Corp.

ANZ had agreed in January to sell its 20 percent stake in Shanghai Rural for A$1.8 billion (US$1.44 billion) to China COSCO Shipping Corp. and Shanghai Sino-Poland, with each buyer taking 10 percent.

“There are no material changes to the financial terms of the sale for ANZ,” ANZ deputy chief executive officer Graham Hodges said in a statement, which did not give a reason for the changes to the deal.

COSCO will still buy its share, the statement said, adding the deal remains subject to closing conditions and regulatory approval.

Baoshan Iron & Steel Co. (Baosteel), China’s largest listed steel mill, said in a separate statement to the Shanghai Stock Exchange that it would buy a 10 percent stake in the Shanghai lender for 4.595 billion yuan (US$700.07 million).

The sale of ANZ’s minority stake in Shanghai Rural is part of a broader sell-down of Asian assets by the Antipodean lender, as it cuts its exposure in the region to meet tougher capital requirements at home and concentrate on its core domestic business.

Coming after the sale of its wealth and retail businesses in Singapore, China and Indonesia to DBS Group in October, ANZ follows Western banks such as Deutsche Bank, Citigroup and Bank of America in backing out of Asian investments.

Baosteel is a major division of China’s biggest steelmaker, China Baowu Steel Group, which was formed last year through the merger of the Shanghai-based steel producer and rival Wuhan Iron and Steel.

Baowu, which owns a 52 percent stake in Baosteel, also holds a 22.6 percent stake in New China Life Insurance Co. and shares in China Construction Bank Corp.(SD-Agencies)