China's Anbang agrees to buy Allianz S.Korean life insurer

Acquisitive Chinese insurers such as Anbang Insurance Group have been shopping overseas in recent years, snapping up foreign companies and properties.

SEOUL: China's Anbang Insurance Group has signed an agreement to buy Allianz's South Korean life insurance unit for about 250 billion won (US$216 million), a South Korean newspaper reported on Wednesday.

Anbang and the German insurer signed the sale agreement on Tuesday, the Korea Economic Daily reported, citing unnamed sources in the insurance industry.

The paper said executives of Anbang, Allianz and Anbang-controlled Tongyang Life Insurance planned to visit South Korean financial regulators on Wednesday to present the agreed deal. 

Allianz had put the unit up for sale as part of a global overhaul of operations.

The Chinese firm has been an aggressive acquirer of overseas assets, including New York's Waldorf Astoria Hotel. But last week it abandoned a US$14 billion bid for Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc, paving the way for a rival bid by Marriott International Inc.

Officials at Anbang in China and Allianz's South Korean unit could not immediately be reached for comment. - Reuters