China Life Insurance, the country's biggest insurer, is purchasing half of a Beijing property project for CNY3.1bn ($436m).
Shanghai-based Sino-Ocean Group Holding, a cash-strapped developer, of which China Life is the biggest shareholder, said it plans to raise funds to pay off debt by selling a majority stake in a Beijing property project for CNY4bn, reported Yicai Global.
The company will also sell 15% of the project to its partner Swire Properties for CNY900m.
Following the completion of the transaction, China Life and Swire Properties will each own half of the project.
Co-developed by Sino-Ocean and Swire Properties, the project is being built in Chaoyang district and is mainly office space. It is scheduled for completion in 2025 or 2026.
Sino-Ocean is in a cash crunch resulting from the downturn in the Chinese real estate market.
China Life has fully written off its 29.59% stake in the developer, the original investment value of which was CNY11.25bn.