AIG raises US$1.25b by selling Chinese insurer PICC P&C shares

[HONG KONG] American International Group has raised US$1.25 billion by selling a large chunk of its stake in China's PICC Property and Casualty Co Ltd (PICC P&C) in a block deal, IFR reported on Sunday.

AIG sold about 740 million shares at US$1.69 each, or near the bottom end of a marketing range, IFR said, citing sources close to the deal. Most of the shares were bought by institutional investors, it added.

With this, AIG has raised about US$2.6 billion by selling PICC P&C shares since last year, after investing in the company ahead of its IPO in 2003.

AIG's stake sale is among the biggest block deals in Asia this year and comes at a time when several European and US financial institutions have been trimming their exposure to Chinese banks and insurers.

Citigroup and Deutsche Bank both have sold their minority holdings in Chinese banks in recent months.

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