Japainese life insurer buys Ping An stake
( 2003-11-17 15:11) (Agencies)
Japan's second-largest life insurer Dai-ichi Mutual Life Insurance Co has
bought a 1-percent stake in Ping An Insurance ahead of the Shenzhen-based
company's expected US$1.5 billion initial public offering in Hong Kong next
year.
Dai-ichi's purchase of the Ping An stake was completed earlier this year, but
had been kept secret at Dai-ichi's request, the South China Morning Post
reported Saturday, quoting a Ping An spokesman.
Both Dai-ichi and Ping An declined to reveal the purchase price, the paper
said.
The 101-year-old Dai-ichi is the fourth foreign strategic investor in Ping
An. HSBC Holdings, Goldman Sachs Group and Morgan Stanley control a combined
23.7 percent of Ping An, which is China's second-largest life insurer as well as
the country's third-largest non-life insurer.
HSBC paid US$600 million for a 10 percent stake in Ping An, valuing the
company at US$6 billion, the paper said.
China has required foreign investment in domestic insurers be capped at 25
percent.
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