Instead of managing the IPO, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. invested 2.58 billion US dollars for a 5.75 percent stake in ICBC, the broker's single-largest investment of all time. When ICBC, as the bank is known, lists its shares on the Hong Kong and Shanghai stock markets next month, the value of Goldman's stake could double based on current demand for the offering, The Wall Street Journal reported. Goldman's bet on ICBC illustrates a significant shift in investment banking in Asia. Though still lucrative, the traditional investment-banking fees can easily be dwarfed by the profits made by investing directly in the region's businesses, said the paper. Many investment banks, increasingly dependent on risking their own money to make profits, are pouring capital into Asia, especially China's fast-growing economy, at times reaping big rewards. While Goldman's investment in ICBC has outstripped all others, the firm is hardly alone as an active investor. Both UBS AG and Merrill Lynch & Co. bought small stakes in Bank of China Ltd., which raised $11.2 billion in a June IPO. Morgan Stanley's private-equity and real-estate funds have been actively investing in China for years, and the firm has a 34 percent stake in China's dominant securities company, China International Capital Corp. Goldman's investments span the region, but in China in particular, the firm has found that early investments in private companies can yield stellar returns and lead to investment-banking business. In 1994, Goldman and Morgan Stanley each invested 35 million US dollars in Ping An Insurance (Group) Co. Last year, the two rivals sold their combined 9.91 percent stake for 1 billion US dollars.