Allianz Life Insurance Korea Co., a life insurance unit of Germany-based financial services giant Allianz Group, is expected to face more challenges as China’s Anbang Insurance Group which in early April pledged to buy the insurance firm is delaying to complete the buyout procedure.

According to Korean financial authority on Sunday, Anbang Insurance so far has not filed for an application for government’s approval for the purchase after it announced its acquisition plan early April. The Chinese insurance firm said nothing but it would file for the application when it would be prepared with the document, said an unnamed official from the financial authority. Any companies or individuals that plan to become a major shareholder of large-sized Korean financial firms must come under scrutiny by the local authority.

Industry watchers have even raised a possibility of the buyout deal falling through as rumors are circulating that the Chinese financial authority has launched an investigation into Anbang Insurance and Beijing is pressuring the insurer to withdraw from the acquisition deal as a countermeasure against Seoul’s decision to deploy the U.S Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) missile defend system.

Although Allianz Life Insurance Korea is yet to settle its accounts for the first half this year but it is expected for the insurance company to have recorded massive losses as it did last year. The insurer registered a net loss of 87.4 billion won ($79.1 million) on a consolidated basis in the first half last year.

Its employees are also finding the situation agitating. The business challenges are getting larger as sales have decreased while interest incomes also have dropped in the low-interest rate environment, said an Allianz Life Insurance Korea official who asked to be unnamed, adding there already are some workers seeking new employment. Market watchers are concerned over the troubled insurer as it is difficult to rebuild a sales team in the insurance industry once the team falls apart.

The Chinese insurance company in February last year announced to purchase another Korean insurer Tongyang Life Insurance and it sought government approval right after in the following month. The acquisition was completed by September last year.

By Park Joon-hyung

[ⓒ Pulse by Maeil Business News Korea & mk.co.kr, All rights reserved]