Speaking at a press briefing in Beijing on Thursday, the regulator said there was “no related demand, plan or arrangement” for Anbang to sell its assets, reports local newspaper South China Morning Post (SCMP).
Not for sale
Citing unnamed sources familiar with the matter, newswire Bloomberg reported Monday that Chinese authorities had asked Anbang to sell its overseas assets, which include life insurers in the Netherlands, Korea and the United States.
The conglomerate also owns a raft of luxury hotels, including New York’s Waldorf Astoria.
Following the report, Anbang told SCMP that it had not received any requests from authorities in China and had no plans to sell its assets.
Regulatory ramp up
The CIRC has been increasing its supervision of how insurers in China manage their asset liability, due to conflicts between highly volatile investment income and fixed liability cost.
The regulator believes that some companies lacking effective corporate governance have adopted aggressive operational and investment strategies, causing a high-risk exposure and liquidity issue.
The CIRC has set up a committee to supervise insurers’ asset liability management and is drafting additional rules to be put in place by the beginning of 2018.
