Dismantling of troubled Chinese insurer Anbang continues as it sells bank stake for US$2.4 billion
- Anbang continues spinning off business units and financial licences as it divest from debt-fuelled investment
Anbang Insurance Group is asking 16.8 billion yuan (US$2.4 billion) for its controlling stake in a commercial bank as the dismantling of one of China’s biggest private conglomerates continues.
Anbang is opening up an auction to sell the 35 per cent stake it owns in Chengdu Rural Commercial Bank, according to a filing to the Beijing Financial Assets Exchange on Wednesday.
The buyer will have to make sure half the agreed deal value is paid into a designated bank account within 10 working days of any deal, according to the filing.
“The strict payment requirements show Anbang is desperate for cash, to make up for low cash flow or to strengthen the capital ratio for solvency requirements,” said Sun Wujun, a professor at the School of Business of Nanjing University.
“Only some sizable state-owned firms, or a handful of private giants would have the ability to take over the assets, based on the payment requirements.”
The sale of the bank stake is the third major asset disposal by Anbang, after a working group dispatched by China’s financial regulators took over the company in February.