AIG has approached some of the world's biggest investors with a view to them taking stakes in AIA, the US insurer's Asian operation, with strong interest from China, according to people familiar with the matter.
As a result, AIG is considering placing as much as 30 per cent with institutional investors and wealthy tycoons, rather than offering minor stakes in the initial public offering, they add.
The likeliest cornerstone investors are sovereign wealth funds. But Chinese insurance companies and some of China's largest banks are said to be looking at both taking stakes and financing others, although it is unclear whether the Chinese Banking Regulatory Commission would approve. China's insurers are not allowed to invest more than 15 per cent of their assets overseas and no more than 10 per cent in one public company, China's industry regulator said yesterday. China's State Council will decide which bidders to allow.