(Beijing) – When a high-profile, billion dollar deal for a stake in a Chinese insurer was inked in early December, officials at the country's biggest policy bank were asking one question seemly unrelated to the transaction:

Who is Xiao Jianhua?

The answer to that question eventually sank China Development Bank's (CDB) planned HK$ 44 billion loan to help Thailand's Charoen Pokphand Group (CP) buy 15.57 percent of Ping An Insurance Co.