Ancheng Property Insurance Co., Ltd. (referred to as "Ancheng Insurance") continues to attract industry attention due to its ongoing equity changes. On October 21, Alibaba Auction announced two bankruptcy auction listings, with Chongqing Highway Engineering (Group) Co., Ltd. (referred to as "Chongqing Highway Group"), the fourth largest shareholder of Ancheng Insurance, planning to sell a total of 181 million shares at a starting price exceeding 290 million yuan.
The transfer of shares by shareholders in Ancheng Insurance is not an isolated incident. In mid-October, Chongqing Property Rights Exchange indicated that Chongqing Water Group Co., Ltd. (601158.SH), the fifth largest shareholder, intends to liquidate its 5.152% equity stake at a base price of 364 million yuan. Earlier, in June, Chongqing Development Investment Co., Ltd. (referred to as "Chongqing Development Investment") was approved for a gratuitous transfer to become the second largest shareholder with an 18.77% stake in Ancheng Insurance.
The recent series of equity changes within six months clearly outlines a trend where private shareholders exit while state-owned capital takes a leading role in the integration of this national property insurance company based in Chongqing, becoming a typical case to observe changes in the ecology of small and medium-sized insurance firms.
In response to inquiries regarding these equity changes, Ancheng Insurance was contacted but did not respond by the time of publication.
Zhu Junsheng, a professor of applied economics at Peking University, remarked that recent years have seen "three obvious" characteristics in insurance industry equity changes: withdrawal of private capital, entry of foreign capital, and strengthening of state assets. Private capital has transitioned from "grabbing licenses" to "streamlining and stopping losses." During this process, state-owned capital, particularly from local financial holding platforms, has become a crucial player in taking over the equity of small and medium-sized insurance enterprises. This strategy aims both to prevent systemic risk and to avoid local financial risk spillover, as well as to reflect policy intentions to reorganize some resources into state-owned financial holding platforms to enhance governance capabilities and further stabilize the industry.
390 Million Shares of Ancheng Insurance Up for Sale
Ancheng Insurance is currently undergoing frequent equity adjustments. Chongqing Highway Group and Chongqing Water Group plan to sell over 390 million shares, aiming to cash out more than 650 million yuan in total. On October 21, Alibaba Auction posted two auction listings for Ancheng Insurance shares, both from Chongqing Highway Group, with rights sourced from a bankruptcy auction. Specifically, the first batch includes 46.34 million shares with a starting price of 74.14 million yuan; the second batch has 135 million shares with a starting price of 216 million yuan. The total of these two auctions is 181 million shares at a starting price exceeding 290 million yuan.
It is noteworthy that this auction by Chongqing Highway Group is not its first attempt; their 235 million shares of Ancheng Insurance were previously put up for auction at 70% of the assessed price in 2022, but the auction was withdrawn due to justifiable objections raised by an outsider. A second round of judicial auction in 2023 also failed to attract bidders. According to Ancheng Insurance’s second-quarter solvency report for 2025, all 240 million shares held by the company have been frozen, and 235 million shares are under pledge.
In contrast to Chongqing Highway Group’s passive bankruptcy disposal, the complete sell-off by state-owned shareholder Chongqing Water Group appears to be a strategic adjustment. According to analyses, the 210 million shares transferred by Chongqing Water Group, equivalent to 1.73 yuan per share, have a transfer base price of 364 million yuan. Industry insiders have indicated that as a leading public utility in local state capital, Chongqing Water Group focuses on water supply and sewage treatment, making its equity in Ancheng Insurance non-core. Given the shrinking profit margins in the insurance industry, cashing out to replenish funds aligns better with its core business development needs.
Currently, the equity transfers of Ancheng Insurance are still ongoing. The auction result of the 181 million shares from Chongqing Highway Group and whether Chongqing Water Group can find a buyer for its shares will serve as critical indicators for assessing the market's evaluation of its restructuring value.
In stark contrast to these shareholder exits is the proactive positioning of state capital. In May, Chongqing Development Investment acquired an 18.77% stake in Ancheng Insurance through a gratuitous transfer from the Yufu Holding Group, which was swiftly approved by the Chongqing Financial Regulatory Bureau at the end of June. As a wholly state-owned enterprise under the supervision of the Chongqing State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission, Chongqing Development Investment has a registered capital of 20 billion yuan and engages in significant infrastructure financing, seen as a pivotal move for the local government to optimize its financial asset layout.
After this integration, Chongqing Urban Investment Group remains the largest shareholder with 31.04%, followed by Chongqing Development Investment with 18.77%, while remaining state-owned stakeholders keep the total state-owned shareholding in Ancheng Insurance at 62.33%, ensuring an absolute leading position.
Industry insiders revealed that some private shareholders regard insurance equity as a financing tool. Once their capital chains collapse, it inevitably leads to equity instability in insurance institutions; this is a significant reason for regulators encouraging quality state capital to intervene.
The concentrated exit of private shareholders may be the result of their operational difficulties combined with the market's diminishing value assessment of insurance companies.
By the end of the second quarter of 2025, among Ancheng Insurance’s 19 shareholders, 9 had share pledges or freezes, with over 35% of shares under pledge status and over 11% frozen. Aside from the largest shareholder Chongqing Urban Investment Group, and smaller shareholders like Chongqing Construction Investment Holding Co., Ltd., the rest were primarily private enterprises.
Among them, the sixth largest shareholder, Chongqing Caixin Enterprise Group Co., Ltd., has entered bankruptcy restructuring due to a debt crisis, with its 203.8 million shares fully frozen and pledged, and previous attempts to transfer equity were unsuccessful; the fourth largest shareholder, Chongqing Highway Engineering Group, has all 240 million shares frozen and 235 million shares pledged. Other private shareholders, such as Taihao Group Co., Ltd. and Chongqing Tongsheng Industrial (Group) Co., Ltd., attempted to transfer their shares but ultimately without success.
Zhu Junsheng noted that over the past decade, some private capital viewed insurance licenses as a "universal entry point to finance," but this trend has shifted under stricter regulations, rising capital requirements, and pressure on industry profitability.
From an operational perspective, the profit performance of Ancheng Insurance may have contributed to the exit of private shareholders.
In recent years, the company has frequently operated at a marginal profit or in loss. Between 2016 and 2024, net profit fluctuated around break-even points with a significant loss of 430 million yuan in 2019, while net profit in 2024 was only 24 million yuan.
In the first half of 2025, Ancheng Insurance's profitability further declined. The company reported insurance business revenue of 3.208 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 4%, yet the net profit was only 2.81 million yuan, a 64% drop from 7.83 million yuan in the same period last year. Key profitability indicators have also come under stress; while the overall cost ratio slightly decreased from 104.13% in 2024 to 103.7%, it remains above the breakeven point of 100%, indicating ongoing losses in underwriting business, further diminishing the attractiveness of its equity.
However, with the new leader in position, Ancheng Insurance's equity governance and operational performance may enter a new phase. On September 28, Ancheng Insurance convened a cadre meeting to appoint Yuan Wei as the party secretary and nominated him as the chairman. Yuan Wei stated he would steadfastly adhere to the correct political direction and prioritize risk control and compliance management.
Yuan Wei has extensive experience in financial regulation, having previously served as the chief officer at the CSRC’s Chongqing office and a director at the People’s Bank of China, along with various roles within Chongqing's financial authorities.
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