CRI听力:China Regulator Would Reject Anbang's Starwood Deal: Caixin

A man walks into a branch of Anbang Insurance in Shanghai, China, 25 December 2015. [File Photo: ImagineChina]

It's being reported that China's insurance regulator will likely reject a bid by Anbang Insurance to buy Starwood Hotels and Resorts Worldwide.

According to report by Chinese financial magazine Caixin, the bid is reportedly above the insurer's offshore asset threshold for overseas investments.

Starwood, owner of the Sheraton and Westin brands, on Monday accepted a sweetened 13.6 billion U.S. dollars acquisition offer from rival Marriott International, spurning Anbang Insurance Group's latest bid.

The report also suggests China's insurance regulator "clearly has an attitude of not supporting" Anbang's bid.

In making the suggestion, the report says Anbang's overseas investments have already reached a "red line," which is 15 percent of the company's assets invested overseas.

For more on this, CRI's Spencer Musick earlier spoke with John Ross, senior fellow with the Chongyang Institute for Financial Studies at Renmin University.