TAKE A JITTERY island government fearful of influence by a neighbouring Big Brother state. Then add a dash of spice in the form of a tiny Hong Kong-listed battery-maker with delusions of grandeur, a mob of angry protesters, a former life insurance division of America’s AIG, and a private equity firm with nebulous financial ties to – the island state fears – Beijing. End result? A tale fit for a spy novel, or perhaps a blockbuster thriller.
At the centre of this unfolding story is Nan Shan Life Insurance, Taiwan’s second-largest life insurer, with $46 billion in assets. Founded in 1963, Nan Shan is being sold virtually wholesale by AIG to the US firm’s preferred bidders: a partnership that brings together the battery-maker, China Strategic Holding (CSH), and a Hong Kong-based private equity firm, Primus Financial Holdings. In November 2009 the two companies agreed to buy 97.57% of...
