American International Group Inc (AIG) said the Asian unit it is going to list in Hong Kong will probably boost its pretax operating profit to at least US$2 billion for the fiscal year ending Nov. 30.
AIG is planning an initial public offering after a US$35.5 billion agreement to sell AIA Group Ltd to Prudential PLC collapsed in May. Hong Kong-based AIA had a US$1.84 billion pretax operating profit last year, Prudential said in a March filing.
“These kind of numbers make sense given the company has a longer record operating in Asia than companies like the Prudential and has a large market share,” Kenny Tang, executive director at Redford Asset Management Ltd in Hong Kong, said yesterday. “The company is targeting China and the Asia market and I think the response to a share sale here would be good.”
The US insurer is selling non-US life insurance businesses after a US$182.3 billion US bailout in September 2008. AIG disclosed the profit forecast on Saturday after providing it to certain analysts.
“We believe that, in the absence of unforeseen circumstances and, on the bases and assumptions set forth below, our consolidated operating profit for the fiscal year ending Nov. 30 2010 is unlikely to be less than US$2 billion,” the company said in a document released on Saturday.
AIG also said AIA’s annualized new premiums gained 5 percent to US$1.39 billion in the nine months ended Aug. 31, and total weighted premium income rose 11 percent to US$9.33 billion in the same period.
AIA received preliminary approval for an initial public offering from the Hong Kong exchange, paving the way for it to begin gauging investor demand for shares in the company, two people with knowledge of the matter said on Wednesday. AIG may sell more than half its stake in the offering, one of the people said.
On Aug. 6, AIG chief executive officer Robert Benmosche told employees in a memo that the company has begun talking to regulators about “the process and terms of a complete government exit.”
The Chien Feng IV (勁蜂, Mighty Hornet) loitering munition is on track to enter flight tests next month in connection with potential adoption by Taiwanese and US armed forces, a government source said yesterday. The kamikaze drone, which boasts a range of 1,000km, debuted at the Taipei Aerospace and Defense Technology Exhibition in September, the official said on condition of anonymity. The Chungshan Institute of Science and Technology and US-based Kratos Defense jointly developed the platform by leveraging the engine and airframe of the latter’s MQM-178 Firejet target drone, they said. The uncrewed aerial vehicle is designed to utilize an artificial intelligence computer
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) caucus yesterday decided to shelve proposed legislation that would give elected officials full control over their stipends, saying it would wait for a consensus to be reached before acting. KMT Legislator Chen Yu-jen (陳玉珍) last week proposed amendments to the Organic Act of the Legislative Yuan (立法院組織法) and the Regulations on Allowances for Elected Representatives and Subsidies for Village Chiefs (地方民意代表費用支給及村里長事務補助費補助條例), which would give legislators and councilors the freedom to use their allowances without providing invoices for reimbursement. The proposal immediately drew criticism, amid reports that several legislators face possible charges of embezzling fees intended to pay
REQUIREMENTS: The US defense secretary must submit a Taiwan security assistance road map and an appraisal of Washington’s ability to respond to Indo-Pacific conflict The US Congress has released a new draft of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which includes up to US$1 billion in funding for Taiwan-related security cooperation next year. The version published on Sunday by US House of Representatives Speaker Mike Johnson removed earlier language that would have invited Taiwan to participate in the US-led Rim of the Pacific Exercise (RIMPAC). A statement on Johnson’s Web page said the NDAA “enhances U.S. defense initiatives in the Indo-Pacific to bolster Taiwan’s defense and support Indo-Pacific allies.” The bill would require the US secretary of defense to “enable fielding of uncrewed and anti-uncrewed systems capabilities”
Renewed border fighting between Thailand and Cambodia showed no signs of abating yesterday, leaving hundreds of thousands of displaced people in both countries living in strained conditions as more flooded into temporary shelters. Reporters on the Thai side of the border heard sounds of outgoing, indirect fire yesterday. About 400,000 people have been evacuated from affected areas in Thailand and about 700 schools closed while fighting was ongoing in four border provinces, said Thai Rear Admiral Surasant Kongsiri, a spokesman for the military. Cambodia evacuated more than 127,000 villagers and closed hundreds of schools, the Thai Ministry of Defense said. Thailand’s military announced that
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