Charoen Pokphand (CP) Group of Thailand has agreed to acquire 30% of Huaxia Life Insurance, an insurer based in Tianjin, China.

The transaction, which is awaiting approval by regulators, will make CP Group the largest single shareholder of Huaxia Life, China Knowledge reported.

Huaxia Life Insurance was founded in 2006 and had total annual premiums of RMB157.2 billion (US$22 billion) in 2015. Its assets totalled RMB513 billion (US$71.7 billion) as of end-2018. In 2017, Zhongtian Finance expressed interest in acquiring up to 25% in Huaxia Life, and was willing to pay RMB31 billion (US$4.3 billion) in cash. However, the deal did not push through.

Meanwhile, CP Group is based in Bangkok, and was founded in 1921 by brothers Chia Ek Chor and Chia Siew Whooy, who were immigrants from China. The conglomerate initially concentrated on agriculture and retail, but it has begun diversifying into financial services in recent years.