SHANGHAI: China’s Ping An Insurance said it has extended the deadline to complete its proposed 11.45 billion yuan ($1.68 billion) purchase of a stake in Shenzhen Development Bank.

Ping An, the nation’s second-largest insurer, agreed in June to buy the entire 16.76 per cent stake in Shenzhen Development Bank held by Newbridge Capital, the Asian arm of US private equity firm TPG, by the end of 2009. The deal is still awaiting regulatory approval and is now expected to be completed by April 30 but could be extended by another 180 days, Ping An said in a statement filed to the Shanghai Stock Exchange late yesterday. The extension also applied to a private share placement worth 10.7 billion yuan. These deals will boost Ping An’s stake in Shenzhen Development Bank to 30 per cent from less than five percent.”The deal is still going through the normal regulatory approval process,” said Shenzhen-based Ping An.