With the rapid development of social economy, the insurance industry has gradually matured after experiencing ups and downs, and its scale and investment fields have been expanding. Recently, Ping An Trust revealed its intention to invest in European real estate, but did not specify the specific transaction details.

The tide of insurance funds

20/kloc-in July, 2003, China Ping An Life Insurance Company of China Insurance Company invested 260 million pounds in Lloyd's Building, which became the first overseas real estate investment of insurance funds, and the investment team of Ping An Trust was responsible for the transaction.

"Most of our members have backgrounds in overseas education or foreign-funded institutions, and many of them are from foreign real estate funds." Zhang Xiaopeng, head of the team and senior investment executive director of the Property Investment Division, said that the team was mainly entrusted by Ping An Group's insurance funds to allocate real estate with stable cash flow, with a cumulative investment scale of more than 26 billion, mainly office buildings, covering office, commerce, service apartments, logistics and warehousing in the park. "The project has been successfully completed. Because it is a long-term single tenant, the return is stable, which is very suitable for matching insurance funds. " Zhang Xiaopeng said that domestic institutions have little experience in investing in overseas real estate, and Ping An adopts internationally renowned professional institutions to ensure that there are no flaws in taxation, law and finance.

Ping An Trust did not disclose the specific transaction details. However, according to the announcement of major related party transactions issued by China Ping An Life Insurance Company of China Insurance Company in July, 20 13, the transaction subjects include China Ping An Life Insurance Company of China Insurance Company and its three special purpose companies (SPV): Anbang Huitou Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "Anbang Huitou"), Anbang Huili Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "Anbang Huili") and Qingling Street Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "Qingling Street") All three special purpose companies are registered in Hong Kong. According to the announcement, there was a round of capital increase between SPVs before the transaction: Anbang Huitou planned to increase capital by 6365438+ million pounds to Anbang Huili, Anbang Huili planned to increase capital by 55.6 million pounds to Qingning Street, and Anbang Huili planned to provide shareholders with a loan of 52.64 million pounds to Qingning Street. According to M&A lawyer's analysis, SPV may be the financing subject of this merger.

The transaction is regarded by the market as the beginning of a wave of insurance funds going out to sea. In June this year, China Life also joined forces with Qatar Sovereign Fund to enter London and bought the landmark "Canary Wharf" for 795 million pounds. Zhang Xiaopeng said that Ping An Trust team is still paying attention to overseas markets. "The US market is basically picking up, and the best admission time is 20 10, but at that time, few China institutions dared to intervene; There are many opportunities in Europe, and the recent interest rate cut by the European Central Bank provides good conditions for M&A financing. But recently, there has been a large influx of funds in the UK, interest rates have increased, and the return on assets has decreased. "

Insurance fund investment pays attention to opportunities in second-tier cities

Zhang Xiaopeng said that the accumulated property of 2.6 billion yuan held by Ping An Trust is still in his hometown. Specific projects are mainly concentrated in the north, Guangzhou and Shenzhen, and there are also some asset packages in Wuhan, Shenyang and Chongqing, mainly office buildings, covering offices, businesses, serviced apartments, logistics and warehousing in the park.

Ping An Trust is cautious about commercial assets. "In the past two years, affected by e-commerce, the sales of many shopping malls fluctuated greatly. But you can try opportunistic investment, or you can consider encountering cost-effective assets. " Compared with shopping centers, office buildings have lower requirements for asset management and operational capabilities, and are the main investment direction of insurance funds.

Zhang Xiaopeng believes that at present, the price of office buildings in first-tier cities in China is relatively high, and it is not easy to find suitable investment opportunities. However, the demand for leasing is relatively strong, the liquidity of assets is relatively high, and the market is relatively transparent, so it will still focus on this; However, in some second-tier cities with development potential, if you get the office buildings in the core area at a low price, there is a good room for growth. According to a recent research report of China Securities, office building is the last mature type of real estate industry, which needs to be based on the improvement of urbanization rate and per capita GDP. At present, there is a "escape sequence" in the written real estate market.

Regarding pension real estate, Zhang Xiaopeng said that he would be cautious: "In the long run, it will definitely be the development trend of insurance investment, but in the early stage of development, we should think clearly about the business model and consider residents' actual ability to pay. Many elderly people are reluctant to spend money outside when they can live at home. We must find the critical point of cost-effectiveness. "

Tips: To sum up, China Ping An Life Insurance Company of China Insurance Company acquired Lloyd's of London last year, which was regarded by the market as the beginning of the wave of insurance funds going out to sea. In addition, Ping An Trust is cautious about commercial assets, and office buildings have low requirements for asset management and operation capabilities, which is the main investment direction of insurance funds.