FACTBOX-Chinese financial firms' overseas investments

BEIJING, April 10 (Reuters) - Merrill Lynch's MER.N chief executive, John Thain, is visiting China and possibly its cash-rich financial institutions, just months after the firm received capital injections of more than $12 billion to help it recover from subprime-related losses.

Wachovia Capital Markets said this week it expects Merrill to post a first-quarter loss as the crisis spreads into the broader economy, while China's financial sector is eager to expand overseas to diversify risk and revenue streams.

At one time, state-controlled China Jianyin Investment Securities had been said by industry sources to be eyeing a potential tie-up with a major global brokerage, possibly Merrill.

More recently, China's CITIC Securities (600030.SS) had agreed to invest about $1 billion in Bear Stearns BSC.N but was thwarted when the U.S. bank was taken over by JPMorgan Chase & Co (JPM.N) last month.

Following are significant overseas deals involving Chinese financial firms.

* CHINA LIFE INSURANCE-VISA ($300 MILLION, MARCH 2008)

China Life Insurance Co (601628.SS) (2628.HK), the country's biggest life insurer, invested $300 million in Visa Inc's (V.N) $17.9 billion IPO, its first overseas investment.

* CHINA INVESTMENT CORP (CIC)-VISA ($100 MILLION)

China Investment Corp -- the $200 billion sovereign wealth fund -- was said by state media to have invested more than $100 million in Visa's initial public offering.

* PING AN INSURANCE-FORTIS ($3.4 BILLION, MARCH 2008)

Ping An Insurance (2318.HK), China's No. 2 life underwriter, paid 2.15 billion euros for half of Fortis' investment management business.

* CHINA INVESTMENT CORP-MORGAN STANLEY ($5 BILLION, DEC 2007)

The government wealth fund invested $5 billion in convertible securities for a 9.9 percent stake in the Wall Street firm.

* PING AN INSURANCE-FORTIS ($2.7 BILLION, NOV 2007)

Ping An Insurance paid $2.7 billion for a 4.2 percent stake in Fortis (FOR.BR), a Dutch-Belgian financial services firm.

* ICBC-STANDARD BANK ($5.6 BILLION, OCT 2007)