China Taiping Insurance Group Co Ltd established

China Taiping Insurance Group Co Ltd was officially established on Thursday.

"The company will strive to be a cross-border financial conglomerate featuring comprehensive business and international management," said Wang Bing, the company’s chairman.

China Taiping was established in Shanghai in 1929 but headquartered in Hong Kong. Its business covers life insurance, property and casualty insurance, pensions, asset management, reinsurance, insurance brokerage, non-financial investment and e-commerce.

By the end of 2012, the group had 270 billion yuan ($43 billion) under management, with total assets exceeding 200 billion yuan. Its premium income last year was 50 billion yuan.

The group may seek a listing in Shanghai, according to a top manager in the company who requested anonymity.

Meanwhile, China Taiping Insurance Holdings (CTIH), the mainland's fifth-largest insurer by market value, has agreed to acquire assets from its parent, China Taiping Insurance Group, for 10.58 billion yuan ($1.72 billion), as part of a restructuring plan, it said in a filing to the Hong Kong stock exchange on May 27.

CTIH will issue no more than 862.74 million shares at HK$15.39 ($1.98) each to Taiping Insurance Group and its unit, China Taiping Insurance Group (HK), to settle the deal, according to the filing.

China Taiping announced on April 19 that its parent company's restructuring plan had received approval, in principle, from the Ministry of Finance and the China Insurance Regulatory Commission, while the framework agreement was subject to regulatory approval.