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China's Embattled Anbang Sells Stakes In Major Lenders - Report

Tom Burroughes

5 September 2017

Chinese conglomerate has reportedly offloaded stakes worth up to a total of $1 billion in the country’s largest banks: Industrial Bank of China; China Construction Bank, Agricultural Bank of China, and Bank of China.

A sharp fall in revenues from premiums has triggered the move, according to a report by the Financial Times. At the end of June this year, the group held no stakes in three of the banks and only 0.12 per cent of Bank of China.

The retreat contrasts with examples of certain Chinese conglomerates, such as Fosun International and Legend (parent of PC firm Lenovo) buying Western financial groups, including private banks. 
Recent months have been difficult for Anbang, which owns the Waldorf Astoria hotel in New York. Its chairman, Wu Xiaohui, has disappeared, possibly in government custody, the FT said. 

Problems mounted when, in May this year, China’s insurance regulator banned Anbang’s life insurance unit from selling policies for three months and accused it of “wreaking havoc” on the market with aggressive pricing.