Baoneng pledges 182m Vanke shares as collateral to Ping An Securities in repurchase agreement
Shares represent 1.65 per cent of Vanke’s total issued capital
Baoneng Group subsidiary Jushenghua has pledged 182 million in China Vanke A-shares as collateral to Ping An Securities in a repurchase agreement, according to a filing to the Hong Kong stock exchange by Chinese real estate company late on Monday.
The 182 million shares represent 1.65 per cent of Vanke’s total issued capital.
The pledge comes amid a ban on Baoneng Group chairman Yao Zhenhua from working in the mainland’s insurance industry for 10 years, a move announced by the China Insurance Regulatory Commission (CIRC) last month when Foresea Life Insurance, a unit of Yao’s Baoneng group of companies, was found to have provided “fake materials” and “violated rules for using an insurance fund”.
On Monday, Yao also stepped down as chairman of Foresea Life. The CIRC has additionally suspended sales of Foresea Life’s new universal life insurance policies, which are a major source of Foresea Life’s revenue. Jushenghua is the parent company of Foresea Life.
Yao and Baoneng fell under the spotlight last year when subsidiaries Jushenghua and Foresea Life collectively acquired a 25 per cent stake in real estate firm Vanke, prompting Vanke’s founding chairman Wang Shi to call the group a “barbarian”.
