Great Eastern to sell 25 percent stake in GELC JV

by Cheryl Tay

Great Eastern Holdings is selling half of its 50 percent stake in a joint venture (JV) with Chongqing Land Properties Group for 303 million yuan (S$59.6 million).

The JV company, Great Eastern Life Assurance (China) Company (GELC), was set up in May 2006 and is headquartered in Chongqing, with branches in Sichuan and Shaanxi.

Great Eastern is selling 250 million yuan (S$49,262,340) of GELC's registered paid-up capital to state-owned insurance enterprise Chongqing City Construction Investment (Group) Co.

Upon the completion of the deal, the company will be renamed Zhong Xin Ancheng Life Insurance Co.

Chris Wei, Group Chief Executive Officer of Great Eastern, said the stake sale "is a significant step in the strategic repositioning of our China business and paves the way for future expansion of branch network through further localisation."

"The Ancheng brand is highly regarded and very well established in Chongqing. We look forward to leveraging the strength of the brand to enhance the partnership's penetration in the local market and better serve our customers," he added.

The sale stake has a net tangible asset value and book value of 179.6 million yuan (S$35.40 million) and 180.7 million yuan (S$35.61 million) respectively, based on a valuation exercise for the year ended 31 December 2011.

The sale stake is not expected to have a material effect on its earnings per share or net tangible assets for FY 2012.

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