Ping An to block Fortis asset sale

Ping An Insurance (Group) Co, the largest shareholder in the collapsed Belgian-Dutch financial group Fortis, will vote against the sale of Fortis assets to French bank BNP Paribas SA at a shareholders' meeting this week.

"We believe that the dismantlement of Fortis, which was not approved by shareholders, violates corporate governance procedures and destroys shareholder value," China's second-biggest insurer said in a statement on Sunday. "Other credible and viable solutions exist and should be considered, in the interest of all parties."

Fortis Holdings will hold shareholder meetings in Belgium on Tuesday and the Netherlands on Wednesday to vote on the deal to sell most of its former banking businesses in Belgium and Luxembourg to BNP Paribas SA, as well as the transfer of a 25 percent stake in its Belgian insurance unit.