HSBC in talks to sell $9.3bn stake in China's Ping An HSBC will record a pre-tax profit of up to $6.5bn if it sells the Ping An stake, according to estimates from Mizuho Securities analyst Jim Antos. This would help boost its Tier One capital ratio up to 13.6pc from about 13.1pc currently. "The only problem is finding a buyer for the Ping An stake," said Mr Antos. You can't sell if you can't find a buyer, because it's impossible to dump so many shares on to the market at one time. A sale would also require approval from China's insurance and banking regulators, narrowing the list of possible buyers, as the Chinese authorities have traditionally allowed only financial groups to take stakes in the country's major banks and insurers, he said. Shares of Ping An, the world's second-largest life insurer by market value, fell to near a two-month low on the news, while HSBC's stock nudged up 1pc. Ping An's market capitalisation is $52.55 billion, according to Thomson Reuters. The Chinese government has frowned upon large divestitures by Western institutions from Chinese companies, as it indicates the partnership is no longer fruitful. HSBC has been exiting non-core businesses since Chief Executive Stuart Gulliver laid out his plans in May 2011 to boost profitability. Europe's biggest bank has since sold or wound down various businesses including its non-life insurance operations, releasing over $55bn in risk-weighted assets, according to the bank. The Hong Kong Economic Journal said a possible buyer of Ping An shares is Thai tycoon Dhanin Chearavanont, who owns the unlisted CP group. Earlier this year, HSBC sold its general insurance business to French insurer AXA and Australia's QBE Insurance Group. According to a Reuters report, the bank is also close to selling its 18pc stake in Vietnamese insurer Bao Viet Holdings. HSBC bought a 10.1pc stake in Ping An for about $600m in 2002. In 2005, it paid another $1.1bn to raise its stake to 19.9pc. This was watered down to 15.6pc when it declined to subscribe to a Ping An rights issue in 2010.