I See The Chinese Are At It Again Then
Hot on the heels of defaulting left, right and centre on now very expensive palm oil purchases, the "a contracts not a contract unless we say it is" Chinese insurance group Ping An are wanting to renegotiate over their agreed $3 purchase of half of Fortis's asset management arm.
Fortis, baled out by the Benelux countries at the weekend, had agreed a sale to Ping An in March. However the value of the assets has fallen considerably since.
Ping An, which bought 4.2 percent of Fortis in November for 1.81 billion euros, had its biggest two-day drop in four years in Hong Kong trading this week after warning it may take further provisions for losses from its holding. The insurer booked a 10.5 billion yuan ($1.5 billion) loss on the stake in the first half.
They are clearly looking to re-coup some of these losses by renegotiating a lower price.
Fortis, baled out by the Benelux countries at the weekend, had agreed a sale to Ping An in March. However the value of the assets has fallen considerably since.
Ping An, which bought 4.2 percent of Fortis in November for 1.81 billion euros, had its biggest two-day drop in four years in Hong Kong trading this week after warning it may take further provisions for losses from its holding. The insurer booked a 10.5 billion yuan ($1.5 billion) loss on the stake in the first half.
They are clearly looking to re-coup some of these losses by renegotiating a lower price.