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China Ping An's plan to acquire Fortis Investment yet to be approved

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2008-08-08 17:56

Chinese financial industry regulators had yet to approve China Ping An's plan to acquire Fortis Investment from Belgium four months after the two sides finalized a global asset management partnership agreement.

An unidentified executive with life insurer China Ping An said on Friday examination procedures for the deal were still ongoing. A Fortis spokesman said on Thursday it was still unable to obtain the 2.15 billion euros ($3.26 billion) required to complete the transaction.

Industry observers estimated that losses from a share drop for the Belgian group could be the factor behind the approval postponement.

At the end of November 2007, China Ping An bought 95.01 million shares in Fortis equities for 1.81 billion euros to become the Belgian group's largest shareholder with a 4.18 percent stake.

In April, the two agreed the Chinese insurer would acquire a 50 percent equity stake in Fortis Investment, the global asset management arm of Fortis, for 2.15 billion euro.

Through this partnership, Ping An would significantly advance its strategy to establish a global asset management business, while Fortis would benefit from enhanced access to the fast growing economies of China and Asia, allowing it to accelerate the development of its business in this key region.

However, Fortis shares had continued to slide, largely due to the US credit crunch. This had brought an approximately 815 million euros book-value loss for China Ping An.

It was noteworthy that China Development Bank, a major State-owned policy bank, which bought into Barclays PLC of Britain in July 2007, also incurred huge losses because of the deal. As a result, its plan to purchase more Barclays' equity has been rejected by Chinese industry regulators.

China Ping An share price has fallen from 98 yuan ($14.27) at the beginning of the year to 45.59 yuan on Thursday, far below its 149.28 yuan climax.