China seizes insurer Anbang as it reins in overseas spending

CHINA yesterday took over Anbang Insurance Group for a year and said its former chairman faces prosecution for “economic crimes”, in the government’s most drastic move yet to rein in politically connected companies whose splashy overseas investments have fuelled fears of a financial collapse.

The highly unusual commandeering of Anbang signalled deep concern over the Beijing-based company’s financial situation and comes as the government looks to address spiralling debt in the world’s second largest economy.

The China Insurance Regulatory Commission said Anbang, which has made a series of high-profile foreign acquisitions, had violated insurance regulations and operated in a way that may “severely” affect its solvency.

The insurance regulator also confirmed Anbang’s chairman, Wu Xiaohui, who Chinese media said was detained last June, was being “prosecuted for economic crimes”, a startling fall from grace for a man who reportedly married a granddaughter of late Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping.