© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: The BYD logo at the 2022 Paris Motor Show in Paris, France, October 17, 2022. REUTERS/Stephane Mahe/File Photo
SHANGHAI (Reuters) – Chinese electric vehicle (EV) giant BYD said on Tuesday it was working on a possible acquisition of Yi’an P&C Insurance Co, an insurer that was seized by Chinese regulators two years ago as part of a crackdown on against financial conglomerates. .
Chinese business publication Caixin reported earlier this month, citing unnamed sources, that BYD would take over the insurer entirely and use it to start an insurance business targeting electric vehicles.
“The acquisition is ongoing,” BYD said in a statement on Tuesday, referring to the reported deal. He said that he would release more details later.
Yi’an P&C Insurance was one of nine companies that Chinese regulators seized from the Tomorrow Holdings conglomerate in July 2020.
A Shanghai court last year fined the conglomerate 55.03 billion yuan ($8.2 billion) and sentenced its founder, Chinese-Canadian billionaire Xiao Jianhua, to 13 years in prison on charges including siphoning off public deposits and betraying the use of entrusted property.
China’s banking and insurance regulator said last year it had agreed to allow Yi’an P&C Insurance to enter bankruptcy and reorganization proceedings.
BYD, the world’s largest seller of battery electric vehicles (BEVs) and plug-in hybrids with sales of 1.86 million cars last year, said Monday it expected its 2022 net profit to be more than five times the amount who booked a year earlier. .
Electric vehicles are expensive to repair, posing a challenge for insurance providers used to the demands of conventional combustion engine vehicles. Tesla (NASDAQ:) launched its own insurance subsidiary in August 2019, promising rates up to 30% lower than the competition.
($1 = 6.7526 yuan)
