SHANGHAI, Dec 16 — Anbang Insurance Group Co paid HK$3.3 billion (RM1.8 billion) to raise its stake in Sino-Ocean Land Holdings Ltd to almost 30 per cent, days after it bought about a fifth of the Chinese developer’s shares.
The insurer purchased 651 million Sino-Ocean Land shares at an average price of HK$5 a share on December 9, taking its stake to 29.98 per cent from 21.31 per cent, according to a disclosure filed with the Hong Kong stock exchange today. Anbang on December 7 bought 20.5 per cent of the builder from the family of Nan Fung Group Holdings Ltd’s founder Chen Din Hwa, according to a filing last Monday.
Sino Ocean shares gained 2.3 per cent to HK$4.97 today. That was the most since a 9 per cent gain December 7, the date of Anbang’s previous purchase.
The developer’s biggest shareholder as of June 30 was China Life Insurance Co, which held a 29.27 per cent stake at the time, according to the first-half report Sino-Ocean released September 15.
Credit negative
In a report this morning, Standard & Poor’s analysts led by Cindy H. Huang said the change in ownership structure at Sino-Ocean was credit negative “because it introduces uncertainties to the company’s strategic direction.” However, the move would have no immediate rating on Sino-Ocean’s ratings, the report said.
In an e-mailed response to Bloomberg, Huang said China Life remained Sino-Ocean’s largest shareholder by a small margin. “Our report already considered the latest ownership information from Anbang,” she said.
Asked if that meant China Life had raised its stake above 29.98 per cent, she later added: “Our report is based on our discussion with Sino-Ocean Land on their ownership status. We will assess the developing situation as information becomes available.” — Bloomberg
