Taiwan watchdog concerned over delay in buying Nan Shan

Taiwan's financial regulator is concerned that further delays by China Strategic Holdings and Primus Financial Holdings in resubmitting their application to buy Nan Shan Life Insurance could hurt the insurer's business.

A spokesman for the island's Financial Supervisory Commission said yesterday it wanted to see the application as soon as possible.

Debt-laden American International Group sold Nan Shan for US$2.15 billion in October last year to China Strategic, a Hong Kong-listed battery maker, and Asian private equity fund Primus. However, their application was returned by the investment commission of Taiwan's Ministry of Economic Affairs in November because documents presented did not 'carry enough required information'.

The two companies were due to resubmit the application for Nan Shan this week.

The application will have to be approved by the investment commission before it reaches the FSC.

FSC chairman Sean Chen has criticised China Strategic and Primus for the delay, saying that Nan Shan had been unable to offer new types of contracts and secure new customers because of the 'uncertainty surrounding the acquisition'.

Nan Shan is Taiwan's second-largest insurer with assets of NT$1.5 trillion (HK$365 billion), four million clients, 34,000 agents and an overall market share of 14 per cent. But last month, the insurer said it was struggling to hold on, adding it was getting only 2.64 per cent of new policies.