CP offloads part of Ping An stake

CP Group offloaded part of its stake in Ping An Insurance (2318) at HK$60.577 a share on Monday, a premium of 1.64 percent compared to yesterday's closing price.

The sale brought in HK$463 million, bourse data showed.

That took the stake held by Thailand's top agro-industrial conglomerate from 17.02 to 16.91 percent. The selloff came after Ping An's share price plunge 36.8 percent in the year to date, despite promises of share buyback by the company and its executives.

In an an exchange filing last month, the insurere said it plans to use between five billion yuan (HK$6.02 billion) and 10 billion yuan to repurchase shares listed in the mainland at a price of no more than 82.56 yuan apiece.

Founded in 1921, CP has its roots in livestock but has since expanded its footprint into retail, finance, telecommunications and real estate.

Known as "Chia Tai" in China, CP was one of the first foreign enterprises to operate in China since it first opened its door to investment in the late 1970s.

It runs 12,000 7-Eleven convenience stores in Thailand through CP All and about 80 cash-and-carry stores under Siam Makro in Thailand. The giant also owns Thailand's second-largest telco operator, True Corp.