China's Anbang Insurance Group is finalising the purchase of a controlling stake in Tong Yang Life Insurance Company for about $1bn, its first deal in South Korea and one that may serve as a springboard for acquiring other assets in the country, according to a report on Reuters.
Reuters said Anbang has been keen to expand globally, including in South Korea where foreign financial firms have had a tough job competing against local rivals. "Tong Yang may be able to utilise Anbang's Chinese networks as it seeks higher long-term returns," Won Jae-woong, an analyst at Yuanta Securities, told Reuters. He noted the Chinese insurer may also benefit from Tong Yang's longer history in insurance.
A deal would be the latest of several for China's eighth-largest life insurer including the purchase of the insurance arm of Dutch bank SNS Reaal for $170m. At the start of February Anbang also confirmed that it is buying New York's famous Waldorf Astoria Hotel for $1.95bn after US regulators approved the transaction.