Temasek Holdings, the Singapore-based sovereign wealth fund, has purchased a $2.5 billion stake in a major Chinese bank from Goldman Sachs.

Temasek has been trying to build its Asian business after losing some $5 billion from its investments in Western banks during the 2008 global financial crisis. This time, the company agreed to purchase $2.3 billion worth of shares in Industrial and Commercial Bank of China from Goldman Sachs, with 70 smaller investors taking the remaining shares worth around $200 million. 

Goldman bought a 4.9 per cent interest in ICBC in 2006. The sale to the Singapore firm is equivalent to 3.55 billion in H-shares, or shares listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. Temasek Holdings has around $150 billion in assets under management.