AIG seeks partner

American International Group is seeking a "strategic partner" to buy a minority stake in its Asian life insurance unit, a Bangkok-based company executive said yesterday.

"We are looking for a partner to support our growth in Asia. For the non-life business, we will not take any strategic partner," Thomas White, senior vice president of AIA Thailand, said in Bangkok.

"We anticipate it will be sold on a regional level," he added.

Meanwhile, GE Money, a unit of General Electric, said it had no plan at this stage to dispose of its 33-per-cent holding in Bank of Ayudhya, as speculated.

"GE Money has made a great investment in Bank of Ayudhya since 2006. We remain an active partner in the bank, in line with our global growth strategy to expand into emerging markets, such as Thailand," said Jin Montesano, GE Money's vice president for communications in Asia.

AIG, once the world's largest insurer, on Friday said it planned to sell its life insurance and retirement operations in the US, Europe, Latin America and Japan, to repay a US$85-billion (Bt2.9 trillion) government bail-out.

AIG almost collapsed last month after credit downgrades and write-downs tied to the US housing slump.

More than a dozen groups have approached AIG about its plans to sell operations, the Financial Times reported, citing Mark Wilson, president of AIG's Asia-Pacific life insurance business.

AIG plans to sell as much as 49 per cent of its AIA life insurance division in Asia, which could bring in $20 billion, the report said, citing estimates by analysts.

"Our financial strength hasn't changed, it's still outstanding," White said.

Outside Thailand, AIA operates in China, Australia, Brunei, Guam, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Japan, Macau, Malaysia, New Zealand, the Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan and Vietnam.

American International Group CEO Edward Liddy said the company wants to keep a majority stake in AIA if possible.