CRI听力:AIG Sells Shares in Chinese Insurance Company: Report

American International Group has reportedly raised 1.25 billion U.S. dollars by selling a large chunk of its stake in China's PICC Property and Casualty Company.

According to a report by the International Financing Review, AIG sold about 740 million shares at some 13 Hong Kong dollars each, or near the bottom end of a marketing range.

Most of the shares were said to be bought by institutional investors.

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

Before the sale, AIG held 851 million PICC P&C shares, making it the biggest shareholder in PICC P&C.

AIG's stake sale is among the biggest block deals in Asia this year.

The stake sale comes at a time when several European and U.S. 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.

For more on this topic, CRI's Bob Jones has spoken with Mike Bastin, director of the China Business Center at Southampton Solent University in London.