Ping An plans to block sale of Fortis assets

Chinese insurer Ping An, the largest shareholder in the collapsed Belgian-Dutch financial group Fortis, said it will vote against the sale of Fortis assets to French bank BNP Paribas SA at a shareholders' meeting on Feb 11.

"The decisions, initiated by the government, to sell Fortis assets have not only destroyed its value but also severely impaired shareholders' interests as a whole," Ping An said in a statement on Sunday night.

For that reason, "Ping An will vote against the sale as such transactions had breached the corporate governance principles of Fortis," the statement said.