AIG to sell Nan Shan to Taiwan's Ruen Chen

Domestic investment firm Ruen Chen is to take AIG's full 97.57% stake in Nan Shan, which will be paid for in cash. Ruen Chen is the JV brokered between retail conglomerate Ruentex Group, which owns 80% of Ruen Chen, and Taiwan Stock Exchange-listed sneaker manufacturer Pou Chen, which owns 20% of the business.

This is AIG's the second attempt at offloading Nan Shan, Taiwan's third-largest insurer that covers approximately one-sixth of Taiwan's population. In September, Taiwan's Financial Supervisory Commission blocked Primus and China Strategic's efforts after a 10-month-long process, on the grounds of their inexperience in the insurance sector and qualms about their financial security, as well as their alleged ties to Mainland regulators. In light of that deal's collapse domestic players including Chinatrust Holdings, Fubon Financial Holding Co. and former Taiwanese diplomat Wang Shih-jung voiced their interest in the business, which regulators were said to look on more favorably given their claims to protect Taiwanese interests.

Ruen Chan is said to share these attributes. "Ruen Chen offers strong operational and funding capabilities and possesses a clear ability to satisfy the strict criteria that governed AIG's bid review process," Robert Benmosche, AIG's President and CEO, said in a statement. "Ruen Chen has demonstrated that it is able and willing to invest in Nan Shan's future, and that it will protect and serve the best interests of Nan Shan's policyholders, employees and agents."

Nan Shan's official sale will aid AIG as it continues to repay the $180 billion bailout loan it received from the US government.

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• Topics
• Greater China
• Financials