AIG sells Taiwan unit for $2.15 billion

The New York-based insurance giant American International Group (AIG) has agreed to sell its Taiwanese life insurance unit for $2.15 billion. The Taiwan business, Nan Shan Life, has been sold to Hong Kong-based Primus Financial, a new financial services firm run by former Citigroup executive Robert Morse. Primus has teamed up with Hong Kong-based China Strategic Holdings to make the purchase.  ÔÇ£We are pleased to have found a buyer who shares our confidence in Nan ShanÔÇÖs bright future, and who has pledged to continue Nan ShanÔÇÖs commitment to its policyholders, agents, and employees, as well as to the people of Taiwan,ÔÇØ commented Robert Benmosche, AIGÔÇÖs CEO.  The bidding process for Nan Shan lasted five months and attracted substantial interest from many large corporations and private equity firms, including the Taiwanese group Chinatrust Financial Holding. The sale is AIGÔÇÖs largest since its government bailout last year. It now looks set to raise further cash from selling two more major Asian assetsÔÇöthe Hong Kong-based life insurance business AIA, which is seeking a $2 billion-plus initial public offering (IPO); and JapanÔÇÖs American Life Insurance Co, which is seeking a reported $5 billion IPO. AIG had a total 97.5 percent stake in Nan Shan. With assets of $46.4 billion, Nan Shan has a market share of 10 per cent and four million customers. It is the third largest life insurer in Taiwan by total premiums and has a network of 24 branches and 450 agency offices. The deal, which is subject to regulatory approval, is the largest ever in TaiwanÔÇÖs financial history. Primus has said it has plans to use Nan Shan to aid its expansion into Hong Kong, Malaysia and Japan.  The Hong-Kong firm has said it will keep Nan ShanÔÇÖs existing management team and uphold the brand. It will also make no changes to existing compensation and benefits packages. AIG is headquartered in New York City and employs just over 110,000 people in 130 countries worldwide. It has said it will use the proceeds of the sale of Nan Shan to make further repayments on its government loan. * ┬á┬á┬á┬á┬á┬á*┬á┬á┬á┬á┬á┬á┬á *