A spokeswoman for ING Group has said “it is
only natural” that parties are expressing an interest in its Asian
insurance business.
A sale of ING’s Asian life insurance business
would help the financial institution repay the remaining €3bn
($3.8bn) of state aid it received as part of the capital support
facilities it received by the Dutch government during the financial
crisis.
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ING spokeswoman Carolien van der Giessen said:
“We are exploring options for our Asian Insurance and IM activities
and while all options are open, we are currently exploring options
for a sale.”
Her remarks come amid news reports that
Manulife Financial was among the suitors that submitted first-round
bids for ING Group’s Asia life insurance unit.
Reuters has reported that the bids were
submitted late on 18 May and the indicative offers ranged from
€6-7bn.
A spokesman for Manulife Financial said the provider has a
longstanding policy of not commenting on market speculation.
