HONG KONG: Beijing’s interventions in the economy don’t always merit applause, but the government’s unprecedented seizure of Anbang Insurance Group Co deserves a round.
Anbang was a toxic threat to China’s financial system after a debt-fueled global acquisition spree – including trophy assets such as New York’s Waldorf Astoria hotel – that was funded by the sale of high-yield insurance policies. Those risky products propelled the company from obscurity into the ranks of the country’s biggest insurers in the space of a few years.