HSBC Insurance Holdings Limited, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the HSBC Group, announced in HK Monday that it agreed to acquire an additional 9.91 percent of the issued share capital of Ping An Insurance (Group) Company of China.

The deal, worth 8,104 million HK dollars (1,039 million US dollars) will increase HSBC's holding in Ping An to 19.90 percent of its issued share capital.

The shares are to be acquired from two of the current shareholders of Ping An, namely, the Goldman Sachs Group and MSCP/PA Holding Limited, an entity controlled by funds managed by the private equity business of Morgan Stanley. The vendors acquired the Ping An shares in 1994.

Under the terms of the agreements, over 613 million Ping An shares will be acquired by HSBC at 13.20 HK dollars (1.69 US dollars) a share, a premium of 9 percent to the price at which Ping An shares closed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange on May 6, 2005.

However, the transactions are still subjected to certain conditions including obtaining approval from China Insurance Regulatory Commission and other approvals as required by regulators.

"Our proposed additional investment in Ping An Insurance demonstrates the confidence HSBC has in the future of the country and we are optimistic about the long-term prospects of the insurance industry in Chinese mainland," said John Bond, Chairman of HSBC Holdings group.

Ping An Insurance, headquartered in Shenzhen, is a diversified financial holding group that integrates securities, trusts and banking.

HSBC Group is one of the largest banking and financial services organizations in the world. Last year, it bought 19.9 percent of China's bank of Communication.

Source: People's Daily