New | Kaisa saga puts focus on investor Sino Life Insurance
Analysts seek to know more about insurer after stake increase in Chinese developer
As Kaisa Group Holdings seeks to avert a debt default after a member of the controlling Kwok family left, analysts are taking a closer look at Sino Life Insurance, the Chinese developer's second-largest shareholder.
Sino Life raised its stake in Kaisa to 29.96 per cent on December 3 by acquiring an 11.2 per cent block from the family of founder and former chairman Kwok Ying-shing, according to a stock exchange filing.
Three of Kaisa's five executive directors are representatives from Shenzhen Fude, a substantial owner of the insurer, another filing shows.
"We have very little knowledge on Sino Life and its major stakeholder Zhang Jun, his background and wealth, and more importantly, his relationship with the government," said Alan Kao, a credit strategist at Haitong International Securities. "Some of its investments are also owned by the Shenzhen government and that implies some kind of ties, although so far it seems to have not worked out for Kaisa."
Shenzhen-based Sino Life was officially established in March 2002, according to its website, and is led by Zhang.
Kaisa's co-chairmen Sun Yuenan and Ye Lieli are vice-presidents at Shenzhen Fude, as is another director Lei Fugui, according to notices on their board appointment last month.