Ping An Insurance’s Major Asset Restructuring Receives Approval
Hong Kong, Shanghai, 29 June, 2011 – Ping An Insurance (Group) Company of China, Ltd. (hereafter “Ping An”, “the Company” or “the Group”, HKEX: 2318; SSE: 601318) today announced that it has received approval from the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) for its proposed major asset restructuring. The Company has also been exempted from the obligation of making a general offer in respect of its acquisition of Shenzhen Development Bank (SDB) as a result of the major asset restructuring. According to the approval documents, Ping An has received approval to use its existing holding of approximately 7.825 billion shares in Ping An Bank plus a cash payout of RMB2.69 billion to fully subscribe to approximately 1.638 billion SDB shares. Upon the completion of this restructuring, the Group will hold a 52.38% interest in SDB, or a total of 2.684 billion shares, and SDB will become a subsidiary company of the Group. Moreover, Ping An Bank will be 90.75% owned by SDB and become a subsidiary company of SDB. Ping An will act in accordance with the CSRC approval and with its agreement with SDB to implement matters relating to the major asset restructuring, as well as carry out the disclosure of information in relation to the progress of the restructuring in compliance with CSRC and Shanghai Stock Exchange rules. According to Ping An, the approval for the major asset restructuring marks a key milestone in the development of Group’s integrated financial strategy, under which the Group aims to promote the balanced development of its three-pillar businesses - insurance, banking and investment – through offering services that emphasizes the “One Customer, One Account, Multiple Products, One-stop shop” philosophy. As the integration of the two banks progress, Ping An will promote its principles of fairness, mutual benefits, stability and development, and is confident of its smooth transition and of achieving its goal of becoming the best commercial bank in China. As the controlling shareholder of SDB, the Group will be able to provide support on capital, rapid network expansion, branch network enhancement, distribution network expansion, customer resources, credit card services, integrated financial products and services, and the upgrade and enhancement of IT systems, plus the sharing of Ping An’s deep experience in building out a pioneering back-office platform. SDB has already started making profit contribution to the Group. As an affiliated business, SDB’s financial contributions to the Group in 2010 and in the first quarter of 2011 were RMB1.145 billion and RMB464 million, respectively.
