Fortis asset sale gets thumbs down

The sale of Belgian-Dutch financial group Fortis' assets has been voted down at the shareholders meeting, reflecting the will of most investors, including its largest shareholder, China's second-largest life insurer Ping An.

The shareholders met in Brussels on Feb 11 and voted against the company's three deals on asset sales, including the sale of the banking and insurance units to the Netherlands, the nationalization of Fortis Bank NV by Belgium governments, and subsequent transfer of a 75 percent stake to French bank BNP Paribas SA.

Sheng Ruisheng, spokesman of Ping An Insurance (Group) Co, said: "The results at the shareholders meeting reflected the will of most shareholders and Ping An will work with other shareholders to find out feasible plans to make sure of Fortis' sustainable profitability."