Hong Kong’s BEA Presses Ahead With Life Insurance Sale

  • BEA could raise $500 million to $600 million from unit sale
  • Potential disposal could draw interest from other insurers
Photographer: Paul Yeung/Bloomberg
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Bank of East Asia Ltd. agreed to start a process of selling its life insurance unit in a bid to boost profitability and lift its shares.

The bank, which counts activist investor Paul Singer’s Elliott Management Corp. as a shareholder, announced the plan after a business review, confirming an earlier report by Bloomberg News. BEA could raise about $500 million to $600 million from a potential transaction, people familiar with the matter have said.