China's Anbang Insurance reported bidding for central London's skyscraper

LONDON - Chinese insurer Anbang Insurance Group Co. is bidding for the Heron Tower in the City of London, reported Bloomberg by citing a person with knowledge of the matter on Friday.

Anbang bought New York's iconic Waldorf Astoria hotel last year.

It also acquired financial companies including Belgian insurer Fidea NV and South Korea's Tongyang Life Insurance Co.

If the Beijing-based company wins the bidding of the 46-story building, it will become Anbang's first acquisition in Britain, reported the US media company.

The Heron Tower is now owned by the State General Reserve of Oman Fund and members of Saudi Arabia's royal family. It is now officially called 110 Bishopsgate.

China's insurers spent an estimated 15 billion U.S. dollars on overseas in 2014, increased by almost 200 percent compared to two years earlier, said the report citing data from London-based estate agent Knight Frank LLP.

Among the acquisition deals in UK, China Life Insurance Co. bought a tower in London's Canary Wharf for 795 million pounds (or 1.2 billion dollars) in June 2014; Ping An Insurance (Group) Co. purchased the Lloyd's of London building in 2013 and London's Tower Place in January 2015.