The China Insurance Regulatory Commission has granted HSBC (HSBC 0.65%) approval to sell its remaining stake in that country's Ping An insurance subsidiary. The bank said it had gotten the nod to sell nearly 1 million shares in the insurer to Thailand-based conglomerate Charoen Pokphand Group.

Last December, the two companies reached an agreement on the sale of HSBC's stake, which amounted to 15.6% of the insurance company. The deal was partially financed by a loan from China Development Bank, the state-controlled lender.

At that time, a small portion of the overall stake was transferred from HSBC to the Thai company, with the transfer of the remainder conditional upon the commission's approval.