China’s biggest bank said Sunday it has received approval to buy a 20 percent stake in South Africa’s biggest lender, the latest big-ticket overseas expansion by Chinese investors.  The deal between state-owned Industrial & Commercial Bank of China Ltd. and Standard Bank Group Ltd. is one of China’s biggest foreign corporate acquisitions to date.

The statement did not provide financial details of the deal, which was announced last year, but the official Xinhua News Agency said it was worth $5.46 billion.  Most analysts will be watching this one closely.