China Strategic Holdings Ltd (中策集團) chief executive Raymond Or (柯清輝) has reportedly resigned his membership from an advisory body to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) in a bid to speed up the Hong Kong-based firm’s acquisition of a Taiwanese life insurer, but the government said the move would not impact its review of the deal and an opposition lawmaker accused Or of playing tricks.
The South China Morning Post reported yesterday that Or resigned from the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) last week amid Taiwan’s concerns about his political affiliations while proceeding with a joint bid for Nan Shan Life Insurance Co (南山人壽) with another Hong Kong-based firm, Primus Financial Holdings Ltd (博智金融).
“I did this voluntarily. I quit because I don’t want any further delays for the bid,” the Hong Kong newspaper quoted Or as saying.
Investment Commission head Fan Liang-tung (范良棟) said by telephone yesterday that Or’s resignation from the CPPCC is just one of many factors to be considered in the government’s review of the Nan Shan acquisition.
He said it was difficult to gauge the timeframe needed for the review because the case is complicated, involves several government agencies including the Financial Supervisory Commission and the Mainland Affairs Council, and, most importantly, the government has yet to receive the required information from the consortium to move the process forward.
“But it shows they [China Strategic] have received the message [from Taiwan],” Fan said, referring to Or’s resignation from the CPPCC.
Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Pan Meng-an (潘孟安), who has been urging the regulators to conduct a thorough review of the Nan Shan acquisition for fear of Chinese influence, yesterday said that Or’s resignation from the CPPCC was just to “get around the law” and that “the government should not be tricked.”
Anyone who has been a CPPCC member in the last five years should be banned from joining Nan Shan’s board or management team, Pan said by telephone.
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