Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) has entered into an agreement to acquire 60% of the stake in the AXA-Minmetals Assurance, a Sino-French joint venture between French insurer AXA and China Minmetals.
According to the agreement, ICBC will assume the majority stake of 60%, AXA will hold 27.5% and Minmetals will hold the remaining 12.5%.
The president appointed by AXA will be responsible for day to day operation of the company under the leadership of the board, and a management committee will be responsible for certain important daily operational matters.
Both the board and the management committee will be led by the executive chairman appointed by ICBC. Minmetals will retain its investment in the joint venture.
Upon completion of the transaction, AXA-Minmetals Assurance will be renamed as ICBC-AXA Life Insurance.
ICBC chairman Jiang Jianqing said, ICBC’s investment in AXA-Minmetals is an important initiative to promote the comprehensive operation strategy and build core competitiveness.
This strategic cooperation of ICBC with AXA and Minmetals will bring sound investment returns to the shareholders as well as quality and all-round financial services to customers, Jianqing said.