Ping An, China's second largest insurer and also the largest shareholder in Belgian-Dutch financial group Fortis, said on Feb 8 that it will vote against the sale of Fortis assets to the highest bidder at a shareholders' meeting on Feb 11.

"Fortis's decisions, initiated by the government, to sell its assets have not only destroyed Fortis's value but also severely impaired Fortis shareholders' interests as a whole," Ping An said in the statement. For that reason, "Ping An will vote against the sale as such transactions had breached the corporate governance principles of Fortis," the Ping An statement said.

BNP Paribas SA has revised its offer to take over parts of Fortis's banking and insurance units. But a negative vote would cancel the improved deal.

Ping An holds more than a fifth of the votes, based on the turnout at Fortis's shareholders' meetings in December 2008. Ping An's investment in Fortis has already lost 90 percent of its value.

(China Daily February 9, 2009)