The China Insurance Regulatory Commission (
CIRC) has said it did not ask controversial insurer
Anbang to sell its overseas assets to bring its money back to the mainland Chinese market, contradicting an earlier report.
The regulator said at a press briefing on Thursday there was “no related demand, plan or arrangement” for Anbang to sell its assets, according to a report by the South China Morning Post.
On Monday, Bloomberg reported that Chinese authorities had ordered the formerly acquisitive insurance group to sell its overseas assets, which include insurers in Korea, the US, and the Netherlands. Anbang also owns several luxury hotels, including the Waldorf Astoria in New York.
Anbang later told the SCMP that it has not received any request to sell its properties, and that it does not have any plans to do so.
In recent months, the CIRC has intensified its supervision of insurers’ management of assets and liabilities, due to the conflicts between highly volatile income from investments and fixed liability costs.
According to the regulator, several insurers have improper corporate governance and adopt recklessly aggressive operational and investment behaviour, increasing exposure to risks and liquidity crises.
In response, the CIRC has established a committee to supervise insurers’ management of assets and liabilities, and it is formulating new rules that will take effect in early 2018.
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