China’s Anbang Insurance Group has announced that it will apply to the country’s top insurance regulator for dissolution and liquidation after two years of operation under state ward, according to a Reuters report.
The once high-flying conglomerate was a target of a nationwide clampdown on businesses accruing fast-growing debts and was seized by the government in February 2018, a fallout resulting from a massive asset-buying spree by several private-sector firms.
Wu Xiaohui, Anbang’s founder and former chairman, was sentenced to 18 years in prison for fundraising fraud and embezzlement involving over 752 billion yuan in May 2018.
Regulators have since carried out asset sales of Anbang, including banks, insurance arms and overseas hotel it held stakes in, to reduce huge debts accumulated over years of aggressive expansion.
In February, China’s Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission (CBIRC) said it had completed the two-year takeover of Anbang and that Daija Insurance Group, the firm created to absorb healthy assets from the fallen conglomerate, was set to bring in a new batch of strategic investors.
Anbang’s seizure has spurred stricter regulations on China’s financial holdings companies to mitigate the risks accumulated by a group of non-financial companies expanding blindly into the financial sector.
The People’s Bank of China (PBOC) has issued related new rules, setting requirements on registered capital, total assets, and assets under management on eligible financial holdings firms, the newswire outlined.
Pan Gongsheng, vice governor of China’s central bank, said at a Monday press briefing that Anbang’s risk settlement is nearing completion under the country’s financial stability department.
