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Empresas y finanzas

China Life says no recent talks with AIA


    By Kelvin Soh

    HONG KONG (Reuters) - China Life <2628.HK>, the world's most valuable insurer, said it has not held talks with AIG since March, despite reports it may be part of a Chinese consortium that aims to buy 30 percent of AIA.

    China Life <601628.SS> held talks with AIG in early 2009 and March this year about buying some of the embattled U.S. insurer's assets, but decided against it on both occasions, Yang Chao, China Life's chairman said on Thursday.

    "Details such as pricing have not yet been disclosed, so we have not decided whether or not China Life will choose to invest in AIA in the future," Yang said.

    Sources had said that AIG is expected to decide by early next week whether to enter formal negotiations with strategic investors for its AIA Asian life insurance business.

    Separately, China Life expects growth in its new business value (NBV) to climb in the second half from the 10.9 percent in the first six months of the year, Chief Actuary Shirley Shao said. NBV is a key indicator to measure how much revenue an insurer is likely to receive in the future.

    The lower-than-expected first-half NBV growth was cited by analysts as one factor weighing on the company's share price on Thursday, following the release of its second-quarter earnings after the market closed the previous day.

    Its shares fell to a 13-month low of HK$30.90 in morning trade in Hong Kong, and it was already lagging the benchmark Hang Seng Index so far this year. [ID:nTOE67P03C]. As of 0622 GMT, China Life shares were down 4.74 percent at HK#31.15.

    China Life warned of ongoing market uncertainty, after its April-June earnings fell 27 percent amid write-downs in a weak stock market.

    The company's solvency ratio, which measures its ability to meet long-term payout obligations, also rose in July following a slight rebound in the stock market, said China Life Vice President Liu Jiade.

    "There was a very apparent increase in our solvency ratio in July, and this is a trend that we're hopeful will continue," Liu said.

    China Life's solvency ratio fell by almost a third at the end of June to 217 percent from 303 percent at the end of 2009.

    (Additional reporting by Clare Jim; Editing by Ken Wills)