China Life invests in Allianz Taiwan

Taipei-based China Life Insurance has bought a portion of Allianz’s Taiwanese business.

Allianz Taiwan Life Insurance said to the Sydney Morning Herald that it had agreed to sell a part of its “traditional” life insurance portfolio to China Life in Taipei. The sum was not disclosed but the German insurance giant said it included 78,000 life policies with a guaranteed interest rate of four percent or higher and policy reserves valued at EUR1.2 billion (USD1.42 billion).

The deal would need the approval of regulators and China Life’s shareholders and could be completed by the middle of next year.

Allianz said the deal with China Life is about improving capital management.

“With its strong balance sheet and track record in acquiring and integrating policies and policyholders, we believe China Life is the ideal candidate to take over this portfolio,” said George Sartorel, chief executive of the Asia Pacific region at Allianz, adding that Taiwanese staff would not be affected by the deal.

“Allianz remains fully committed to Taiwan, and this transaction is consistent with our priorities to serve customers with our core unit-linked and protection solutions,” Sartorel said.

Allianz Taiwan Life, which entered the market in 1995 and now has about 2,500 agents, is the largest international life insurance company in Taiwan.