TAIPEI/HONG KONG: Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) is in talks to buy a stake in Taiwan's Cathay Financial, sources said yesterday, in a deal that could be worth more than $3 billion.

The talks come amid an easing of cross-Straits relations between the mainland and Taiwan, in hopes of boosting both economic and political ties.

One source said that ICBC was interested in buying a roughly 20-percent stake in Cathay Financial, Taiwan's top listed financial holding group, which has a market capitalization of around $17 billion.