Taiwan’s Chinatrust Financial has offered three billion US dollars for Nan Shan Life, the highest bid yet for the local unit of insurance giant American International Group, a lawmaker said Tuesday.
The second-highest bid is from Taipei-based Cathay Financial Holding, which has offered 2.7 billion US dollars, said Tsai Cheng-yuan, a member of the legislature’s finance committee.
Tsai, member of the ruling Kuomintang party, told AFP he had his information from officials in the US Treasury Department.
Other bidders for the unit include Fubon Financial, Goldsun Group and Ruentex Group.
Goldsun is reportedly backed by Hong Kong-based Primus Financial Holdings, whose previous bid for Nan Shan for 2.15 billion US dollars was rejected by the Taiwan government in August.
Taiwan authorities cited concerns that the Hong Kong consortium of Primus and China Strategic Holdings lacked the experience needed to manage an insurer while it also failed to provide a long-term management commitment.
The rejection of the bid came as a blow to AIG, once the world’s largest insurer, which has been selling assets to pay back US government loans since its rescue from collapse during the 2008 financial crisis.
Taipei, Dec 28, 2010 (AFP)
