中國保監會派調研組赴安邦保險

Anbang Insurance Group and local competitors are being examined by China's insurance regulator as concerns grow about the sector’s aggressive investment policies.

由於保險行業激進的投資政策引起的擔憂加劇，安邦保險集團(Anbang Insurance Group)及其國內競爭對手正在接受中國保險監管機構的調查。

The order to inspect Anbang, along with Shenzhen-based Funde Sino Life Insurance and at least one other group comes from the highest echelons of the central government, according to a person with close ties to Beijing.

一位與北京方面聯繫密切的人士表示，調查安邦、總部位於深圳的富德生命人壽(Funde Sino Life Insurance)以及至少另一家保險集團的命令，來自中央政府最高層。

Anbang has been on an overseas acquisition spree that includes the $2bn purchase of New York’s Waldorf Astoria hotel, a $6.5bn deal to buy Strategic Hotels & Resorts and an unsuccessful $14bn bid for Starwood Hotels & Resorts.

安邦一直在大舉進行海外併購，包括以20億美元收購紐約的華爾道夫酒店(Waldorf Astoria hotel)，以65億美元收購Strategic Hotels & Resorts，以及未成功的140億美元競購喜達屋酒店及度假村國際集團(Starwood Hotels & Resorts)。

Caixin, a respected business news website, reported earlier this week that the China Insurance Regulatory Commission had dispatched an "investigation and research team" to Anbang's offices to learn more about the company's business.

本週早些時候，中國頗受尊敬的商業新聞網站財新網(Caixin)報道稱，中國保監會(CIRC)已派出一個“調研組”前往安邦，瞭解這家公司的業務。

The focus of the CIRC examination is not clear.

中國保監會的調查焦點尚不清楚。

But it comes at a time when some investors have been asking questions about how the Chinese insurance industry has been financing its acquisitions.

但進行調查之際，投資者一直在質疑中國保險業收購資金來源的問題。

Funde did not answer calls seeking comment. The CIRC declined to comment by phone and did not respond to faxed questions.

富德生命人壽沒有回答記者要求置評的電話。中國保監會拒絕通過電話置評，也沒有回覆傳真問題。

Representatives of Anbang declined to comment.

安邦的代表拒絕評論。

Many Chinese insurers have used rapid premium growth in recent years to fund illiquid investments both in the country and abroad. A large amount of these premiums comes from short-term, high-yielding policies that are more like wealth management products than protection policies. This business model creates the risk that insurers won't have enough cash on hand to meet promised payouts.

近年來，中國許多保險商利用快速增長的保費，在國內外發起流動性不夠強的投資。這些保費中的很大部分來自短期高收益保單，這類保單更像理財產品，而不像保障性保單。這一商業模式產生一種風險，即保險商手頭沒有足夠的現金支付承諾收益。

The inspections of Anbang and Funde appear to be part of a broad regulatory enforcement campaign by the CIRC. Last week the agency published a notice on its website criticising several insurers for failing to disclose related-party transactions.

對安邦和富德生命人壽的調查，看來是中國保監會發起的一次宏觀監管執法行動的一部分。上週，中國保監會在其網站上發佈了一項通報，對幾家未能披露關聯交易的保險商提出了批評。

Caixin has separately reported that the CIRC had decided to enter Funde after receiving allegations that a senior executive had improperly transferred assets. In statement posted on its website late Monday, Funde denied the allegation against its executive and said it would "actively cooperate" with any regulatory investigation.

財新網還報道稱，保監會決定去富德生命人壽的起因，是收到的一封關於富德生命人壽某高管涉嫌轉移資產的舉報信。週一晚，富德生命人壽在其網站上掛出聲明，否認其高管受到舉報，並表示願“積極配合”監管調查。

The CIRC inspections also follow Anbang’s decision to withdraw its Starwood bid largely due to doubts about whether the insurer could gain Chinese regulatory approval for an overseas deal of that size.

中國保監會的調查也緊隨着安邦放棄併購喜達屋的決定。放棄的主要原因，在於這家保險商能否在規模如此大的海外併購案上獲得中國監管層的批准，引發了懷疑。

Recently, European regulators have blocked potential Chinese acquisitions of banks and insurers, in part out of concern over high debt levels used to finance the potential deals.

近來，歐洲監管機構已否決了幾起中國企業對銀行和保險商的收購案，原因是對高額舉債支持潛在交易感到擔心。