More on Goldman Sachs' principal investing prowess

June 1, 2009 | By Jim Kim

We noted recently that Goldman Sachs may be returning to its earnings-minting ways, which would be a good thing for shareholders, of course. In particular, I wondered when we'll see they day when Goldman books one major gain on a principal investment per quarter--the way it used to.

Goldman has moved to sell up to $1.9 billion worth of shares in Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, according to Reuters. The stake represents nearly 20 percent of Goldman's 4.93 percent stake in the bank, which some say is the world's biggest lender. Goldman pledged earlier this year to keep 80 percent of its ICBC stake until April 2010. ICBC's Hong Kong-listed shares have risen nearly 43 percent since Goldman announced plans to extend its investment in the bank.

For more:
- here's the Reuters article