Ping An plans to raise stake in Fortis to 7%

China's second largest insurer, Ping An Insurance Co Ltd<601318><2318> is considering raising its stake in Fortis to 7% to reinforce ties with the Belgian-Dutch financial group.

Ping An recently lifted its stake in Fortis to 4.99% from 4.18% and spent EUR 2.15 billion (US$3.4 billion) on buying half of Fortis' asset management business.

Ping An has expressed its wishes to gain a 7% shareholding in Fortis, Fortis said in its annual report on Monday, adding that it intends to explore possible means to that end.

Chinese financial enterprises are seeking overseas investments under the sub-prime pressure.

The Chinese insurer bought its initial stake in Fortis for US$2.7 billion in November, as Fortis raised funds for its acquisition of parts of Dutch rival ABN AMRO for EUR 24 billion, market sources reported.