PICC Group ‘Watching’ IPO of AIG’s Asian Business (Update1) Share | Email | Print | A A A
By Bloomberg News
Oct. 19 (Bloomberg) -- People’s Insurance Company (Group) of China Ltd., parent of the nation’s biggest non-life insurer, is “watching” the initial public offering of American International Group Inc.’s Asian life insurance unit, Chairman Wu Yan said.
PICC Group has no specific plan yet, he said in an interview in Beijing today, referring to a possible participation in the IPO of American International Assurance Co. The company will “step up research and push forward” overseas acquisition efforts in Hong Kong, he added without elaborating.
PICC Group last month completed a state-led restructuring, paving the way for becoming a listed company and putting in place a capital-replenishing mechanism for operations. The group aims to diversify its sources of profit from property insurance to life insurance, asset management and trusts, Wu said today.
The group has not started talks with potential strategic investors, and prefers a partner that could provide “strategic and business synergies” in the Chinese market, Wu told reporters today. That precondition makes it “clear” whether the insurer will choose a local or foreign investor, Wu added.
AIG has no plan to sell its stake in PICC Property & Casualty Co., the listed unit of PICC Group, Wu said at a ceremony to mark the completion of the state-owned insurer’s restructuring. “They said they want long-term cooperation,” Wu said. “We welcome that intention.”
PICC Group has no “specific” plan regarding its IPO currently, Wu said. |