HSBC has confirmed that it is in discussions which may lead to the sale of its $9.5bn stake in Ping An Insurance, China’s second largest insurer by premium income.
HSBC Group currently holds a 15.6% stake in Ping An, which is worth $9.5bn, and if this were to be sold, it would complement the bank’s strategy of focusing on its core businesses.
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Speaking to Life Insurance International, about the Ping An stake, a spokeswoman for HSBC said: "We have noted the recent press speculation. HSBC has from time to time received approaches regarding its shareholding and confirms that it is in discussions which may or may not lead to the sale of the shares."
The Wall Street Journal cited the Hong Kong Economic Journal as saying that Charoen Pokphand Group, of which Dhanin Chearavanont is chairman and CEO may be one of the parties interested in purchasing HSBC’s stake in Ping An.
Ping An has about 490,000 life insurance sales agents and 175,136 full-time employees.
Ping An’s life insurance subsidiary, Ping An Life, recorded total written premiums of RMB 157.6bn from January – September 2012, compared to RMB 148.6bn during the same period in 2011.
According to a report, Life Insurance in China, Key Trends and Opportunities to 2016, which is available at the Insurance Intelligence Center, apart from China Life, the leading life insurance companies in terms of gross written premium included Ping An Life with a 12.44% market share, China Pacific Insurance Company (CPIC) with 9.75%, and PICC Life and Taikang Life with 7.36% and 7.11% respectively.
