Leading offshore firm Appleby acted as Cayman counsel to The Ming An (Holdings) Company Limited (Ming An) in connection with its privatization by way of a Cayman court sanctioned scheme of arrangement (Scheme) by its major shareholder, China Taiping Insurance Holdings Company Limited (CTIH). The Appleby team was led by Judy Lee, a Corporate Partner in Appleby’s Hong Kong office.

Ming An was incorporated in the Cayman Islands and its shares were listed on the Hong Kong stock exchange (HKSE) on 22 December 2006. The shares of CTIH are also listed on the HKSE. Under the Scheme, all of the shares in Ming An held by minority shareholders were cancelled in return for shares in CTIH and Ming An became wholly-owned by CTIH. The Scheme became effective on 31 October 2009 and Ming An was delisted from the HKSE on 2 November 2009.

The acquisition of the shares in Ming An held by the minority shareholders was valued at approximately HK$1,852,600,000.

The combined group resulting from the Scheme will achieve economies of scale in the property and casualty insurance business particularly in the People’s Republic of China. The combination of Ming An and CTIH will create a leading platform with a top 10 position in the property and casualty insurance market in the PRC and a fifth largest direct property and casualty insurance presence in Hong Kong by premium.