China’s state-backed Wuchan Zhongda to invest up to $830 million in insurance firm

Chinese state-backed supply chain service company Wuchan Zhongda Group on Monday said it will invest up to 6.07 billion yuan ($830 million) in Sinatay Life Insurance.

The deal will allow Wuchan Zhongda to integrate its elderly care business with low-cost insurance-based funding, and strengthen the company’s strategy in financial business, Wuchan Zhongda said in a filing to the Shanghai stock exchange, without providing further details.

Wuchan Zhongda will hold a 33 per cent stake in Sinatay Life Insurance after the deal, which is pending reviews from Chinese regulators including National Administration of Financial Regulation and State Administration for Market Regulation, according to the filing.

Wuchan Zhongda Group, whose controlling shareholder is a state asset management vehicle in the eastern province of Zhejiang, provides supply chain services in sectors including commodities and automobiles. It also provides financial services, elderly care businesses and wastewater treatment projects.

Sinatay Life Insurance, based in the Chinese city of Hangzhou, the provincial capital of Zhejiang, reported total asset of 221.8 billion yuan in the Jan-June period this year and total liability of 220.0 billion yuan.

($1 = 7.3089 Chinese yuan renminbi)