China's Chongqing City Commercial Bank has received the banking regulator's approval to sell a 17 percent stake to the Hong Kong-based Dah Sing Financial Group, the mainland bank's chairman, Zhang Fu, said.

"We received approval from the China Banking Regulatory Commission on March 29, and are currently working on detailed documents," Zhang said in an interview at a financial conference in Beijing on Saturday. Carlyle Group's earlier bid to buy a 7.99 percent stake has yet to be approved, he said.

China is encouraging domestic lenders to attract foreign strategic investors to help raise capital, improve corporate governance and risk control. Fewer than a third of city banks have met the 8 percent minimum capital adequacy requirement by the regulator.

Carlyle, a Washington, D.C., buyout firm, is submitting more documents needed to the banking regulator, Zhang said. "So far, we've heard nothing about the regulator" rejecting Carlyle's bid and "it is still hopeful," he said.

The U.S. firm and Dah Sing agreed to pay 1.01 billion yuan, or $131 million, for a combined 25 percent of Chongqing City Commercial Bank to profit from growing demand for financial services in China, the Chongqing bank said in December.

Carlyle would be the second foreign buyout firm to enter China's banking industry, where loan growth averaged 14.5 percent from 2000 to 2005. The first, San Francisco-based Newbridge Capital, bought 17.9 percent of Shenzhen Development Bank for $149 million in 2004.

Merrill Lynch Group and KASB have been hired by Pakistan's government to advise it on the overseas shares sale of United Bank, the nation's third biggest lender by assets.

United Bank will sell global depository receipts, Pakistan's asset sale agency said Friday. Separately, the agency picked the Karachi-based Global Securities, as the lead broker to sell shares in Habib Bank, the nation's second biggest lender by assets through the Karachi Stock Exchange.

Pakistan's government could raise as much as $600 million overseas selling shares in National Bank of Pakistan and United Bank as economic growth prospects in the South Asian country attract foreign investors.

Proceeds of between $500 million and $600 million from the sale of global depositary receipts in the two banks "would not be out of range," Pakistan's central bank governor, Shamshad Akhtar, said. "I am quite optimistic on foreign inflows," she said.

DBS Group Holdings, Southeast Asia's largest bank, said the Monetary Authority of Singapore "is prepared" to grant the lender a license to become the city-state's first Islamic bank.

DBS will hold a majority stake in the Islamic bank, and shareholders will include "prominent investors" from the Gulf Cooperation Council countries, the bank said Friday. DBS said the Islamic bank will offer corporate, capital market and private banking services.