台湾否决香港财团收购AIG旗下寿险业务

飞雪寒冰

AIG’s sale of its Taiwan life assurance unit to a Hong Kong-based consortium for $2.15bn was blocked by Taiwanese regulators yesterday following months of uncertainty and protracted negotiations. The move is a setback for the American insurer, which had hoped to use the sale of its Taiwan unit Nan Shan to raise funds to pay back loans following a US government rescue in 2008. It follows the collapse in June of AIG’s efforts to sell AIA, its main Asian unit, to Prudential after the UK insurer withdrew its $30bn-plus offer for the business. “It will not be easy for AIG to find a buyer that meets Taiwan’s requirements. It will take time,” said Joyce Huang, a Taipei-based insurance analyst with Fitch Ratings. The Hong Kong-based consortium, which consists of China Strategic Holdings and Primus Financial Holdings, initially struck a deal with the American insurer last October to acquire its Taiwan unit. The Taiwanese authorities, who formally accepted the proposal in January, repeatedly requested information from the consortium and assurances from Nan Shan amid concerns that the consortium was backed by mainland funds and had political ties with Beijing. Chinese investment in Taiwan is strictly controlled amid fears of excessive economic dependency on China. However, Hwang Jung-chiou, the vice-minister of economics, yesterday stressed that the sale had been classed as a “foreign” investment case rather than a “Chinese” one. The island’s regulatory agency, the Financial Supervisory Commission, said the Hong Kong-based consortium had failed to demonstrate to regulators that it had sufficient commitment to the long-term operations of Nan Shan and that it had enough financial resources to meet any future needs for increased injections of capital. Wu Tang-chieh, the commission’s vice-chairman, said the Taiwan government hoped to see AIG continue to run Nan Shan and urged the American insurance group to discuss any plans it might have for the business with Taiwanese regulators first.

经过数月的不确定与漫长谈判，台湾监管机构昨日否决了美国国际集团(AIG)以21.5亿美元将其台湾寿险业务出售给一香港财团的交易。

飞雪寒冰

Nan Shan could not be reached for comment.
此举对AIG是一个打击。这家美国保险商曾希望利用出售其台湾业务南山人寿(Nan Shan)的交易，筹集资金，偿还美国政府2008年借给它的资金。


此前，由于英国保险商保诚(Prudential)撤回了其300多亿美元的竞购要约，AIG向其出售旗下主要亚洲资产——友邦保险(AIA)的努力，于6月份宣告失败。


惠誉评级(Fitch Ratings)驻台北保险业分析师黄佳琪(Joyce Huang)表示：“对AIG来说，要想找到一家满足台湾要求的买家，并非易事。这需要时间。”


上述香港财团由中策集团(China Strategic Holdings)与博智金融(Primus Financial Holdings)组成。该财团最初于去年10月与AIG达成了收购后者台湾业务的协议。


台湾有关部门于今年1月正式接受收购申请。但由于担忧上述财团得到了中国大陆资金的支持、并与北京有政治联系，台湾方面多次要求该财团提供信息，并要求南山人寿做出保证。


因担忧对中国大陆产生过度的经济依赖，大陆在台湾的投资一直受到严格的管制。


然而，台湾经济部副部长黄重球(Hwang Jung-chiou)昨日强调指出，该交易被列为“外国”投资案，而非“大陆”投资案。


台湾监管机构——金融监督管理委员会(Financial Supervisory Commission)表示，香港财团未能向监管者证明，它将充分致力于南山人寿的长期运作，以及它拥有足够的财务资源，可满足未来任何追加注资的需求。


金融监督管理委员会副主委吴当杰表示，台湾政府希望看到AIG继续运营南山人寿，并敦促AIG，若有任何涉及南山人寿的计划，应首先与台湾监管者商讨。


记者无法联系到南山置评。