2010-08-13 09:41

China Life and two other Chinese companies may not proceed with bids for stakes in American International Group's Asian unit AIA ahead of the unit's planned initial public offering, a newspaper reported on Friday.

China Life, the world's top life insurer by market value, had initially planned to submit a joint bid for AIA shares with China Cinda Asset Management and Fosun, China's biggest non-government controlled group, the 21st Century Business Herald reported, citing unidentified banking sources.

But the companies have decided to temporarily withdraw from the process on concerns that the IPO is overpriced, the newspaper said.

China Life had said previously it may invest in AIA's IPO as part of its broader interest in branded firms.

China Life declined to comment on the matter, the 21st Century Business Herald said.

AIG is aiming to list AIA on the Hong Kong stock exchange by the fourth quarter of this year, and the IPO is expected to raise about $15 billion.

AIG has started talks with potential investors for the IPO, sources with direct knowledge of the matter told Reuters on Thursday.

Several financial investors, including Singapore's Temasek Holdings, China Investment Corp and Abu Dhabi Investment Authority have expressed interest in buying cornerstone stakes in AIA, the sources added.