[THE INVESTOR] Chinese insurance company Anbang has sought the Financial Services Commission’s approval for acquiring Allianz Korea, the top financial regulator announced on Aug. 30.

This comes after Beijing’s approval for the acquisition, according to Herald Business.

Anbang Insurance had signed a stock transfer agreement with Germany’s Allianz Group to take over its South Korean unit for US$3 million in April. 

For almost five months, though, it did not submit its qualification application to FSC, a requirement for individuals or legal entities to become the largest shareholder of local financial firms, sparking rumors that it has given up on the deal.

As it took less than a month for Anbang to apply for qualification when it acquired a controlling stake in South Korean insurer Tongyang Life in February, the delay produced theories that ranged from blaming political tension between the two countries over THAAD deployment to saying it was burdened by the introduction of the second phase of the IFRS4 standard that requires enlarging the capital base for life insurance firms.

The Financial Supervisory Service will review the application, a process that usually takes two months, and will submit the results to FSC.

By Hwang You-mee (glamazon@heraldcorp.com)